Pregnesia. For each pregnancy, it seems to afflict me no more than a few hours post conception. I mean, I could have boxed the first disoriented moment and sold it as an early pregnancy confirmation.
The weird feeling of being off. The fog that consumed the simplest task, the drive from the mailbox, to the stop sign at the end of the street, causing a strained grasp at coherency during a minimal exchange about the weather. Between the growing belly, breast, and bum, it is quite easy to forget the lack of ability to concentrate. I filled out an application at the DMV and I couldn’t remember the state I lived. (In all fairness, I have lived in Texas, California, and Louisiana.) I used to be a contender. Once considered a mental filofax. Not quite Rain Man, but I had a high retention rate of the spoken or written word. I could quote Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese in my sleep. So, this pregnancy-induced trouble writing my own name is a measurable difference.
I understand it, really. Our body changes complete direction no longer functioning for my mere survival, but focusing on the manufacture of a human being spleen, heart, eyes, and all. Seems like a major task for a woman who at the time cannot even remember where she parked, but then I’ve always had that affliction.
The plot thickens; momnesia forms a more permanent division between the pregnant woman and mental clarity beginning with the first few months of forgetting that life does exist beyond the baby progressing confusing names. Just as our body is focused on pregnancy while in that state, our mind is focused on the care for the children. Shifting from Barney the purple dinosaur to Wall Street Journal can stimulate the mind. I wish that I could say there is an end to this.
I look at everything as a process. When we understand the cause, we can reduce the effect. Diet, supplements, and exercise can help rebuild our bodies and rejuvenate our minds. Folic acid, omega 3s, among other superfoods may recover some displaced brain cells. Pregnesia is a product of the process of pregnancy. Sure, we’re a bit disoriented at times, but the end product of pregnancy is so wonderfully worthy of all of the comparatively simple displeasures.
