Pregnancy is a period of profound hormonal and physiological change experienced by millions of women annually, yet the neural changes unfolding in the maternal brain throughout gestation have not been studied in humans. Leveraging precision imaging, we mapped neuroanatomical changes in an individual from preconception through two years postpartum. Pronounced decreases in gray matter volume and cortical thickness paired with increases in white matter microstructure were evident across the brain, with few regions untouched by the transition to motherhood.
Keywords: MRI; brain structure; precision imaging; pregnancy; sex steroid hormones; women’s health.