If you’re pregnant and feel like it’s turning your brain to dough, you’re not alone. “Pregnancy brain” makes your short-term memory worse. Some women have told us that they go to the grocery store only to forget what they went there to buy.  Or maybe you wrote a list on the back of your hand and forgot where you put your pen.

Studies show that your brain can actually decrease by as much as 7% when you’re pregnant. It’s caused by multiple things: a hormone called oxytocin, more hormones and not getting enough sleep.

Here are 5 tips on how to cope:

1. Focus on one thing at a time.
2. Write down your day’s 2 or 3 most important to-do’s on paper, or put them in your phone to find throughout the day.
3. Take care of yourself: get enough sleep and regular exercise.
4. Take a deep breath and don’t be too hard on yourself.
5. Cut down on your tasks by asking for help. When possible, get assistance from those around you who are not pregnant to serve as your backup system

Sign up for Lifetime’s free pregnancy newsletter by clicking here. In each issue, we cover common pregnancy concerns and questions.

Written by Heidi Keefer

Heidi Keefer is a Content Creator for Lifetime Adoption and has 15 years of experience in the field of adoption. An author of thousands of blog posts over the years, Heidi enjoys finding new ways to educate and captivate Lifetime’s ever-growing list of subscribers.

Heidi has a keen eye for misplaced apostrophes, comma splices, and well-turned sentences, which she has put to good use as a contributor to Lifetime’s award-winning blogs. She has written and published hundreds of adoption articles which explore the various facets of domestic infant adoption today.