In laboratories and delivery rooms alike, science is slowly illuminating one of humanity's most ancient mysteries: why a mother moves toward her crying child without deliberation. Researchers tracing neural circuitry in mice have identified the precise mechanism by which pregnancy hormones rewire the brain's reward system, converting the biological fact of motherhood into the felt experience of wanting to care for a newborn. The discovery, centred on dopamine pathways activated by the medial preoptic area, carries quiet but profound implications — not only for understanding what goes right in
Brain's reward pathway rewires for motherhood, new research reveals
12-18% of New Zealand women experience depression, anxiety or mental health conditions during pregnancy or after birth; globally 10% of pregnant women and 13% postpartum experience mental disorders.