Countering the Mommy Brain Stigma

The Benefits of Maternal Neuroplasticity at Work

Psychotherapy Network by Nicole Pensak

I walked through those big, glass doors, and the lobby was empty. It took me a second to realize I was so early that none of my coworkers had arrived yet. Since I was still on baby time, I’d been up since dawn.

Seeing I was alone, I felt momentarily disappointed, but then a surge of relief filled my body. I could put all my pumping gear in my office, check the daycare app to see if the baby was doing okay, take a breath, and get reacquainted with the view from my office window.

As I was walking down the hall, I started thinking, All these months without this sense of quiet and order, without the buzz of the city and the promise of friendly adult faces, without the freedom to lose myself in my own work .