Pregnant women 'mislay more things'

Women expecting babies face an increased risk of forgetting where they left their belongings such as handbags, keys and mobile phones, new research shows.

According to scientists, women in later stages of pregnancy tend to suffer from loss of spatial memory - the one that deals with location and position of objects.

Spatial memory helps us find where we have left everyday items and navigate through familiar routes by recognising landmarks.

Researchers say the temporary loss of this memory may be due to pregnancy hormones affecting the brain. It is more apparent during the last six months of pregnancy and lasts at least three months after the baby is born.

Their study, reported at the Society of Endocrinology BES meeting in Manchester, found that mothers-to-be in their second and third trimesters registered a lower performance than non-pregnant women in spatial memory test.

Study leader Diane Farrar, a midwife from the Bradford Institute for Health Research, said: "Forgetfulness and slips of attention are phenomena commonly reported by pregnant women, but scientists have yet to identify a specific mechanism by which this memory impairment might occur.

Indeed, some question whether the reported memory loss exists at all. Altered hormone levels during pregnancy may affect brain regions involved in memory processing."

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