Baby brain...(and no, not the one in "your" head)

Talk about firing on all cylinders!

Mama, there’s an intrinsic machine developing inside your womb, which is well under construction. Tiffany Brown helps us understand the growth factors of the incredible human brain.

Over the years your own fascinating brain has worked tirelessly to manage the control centre of your being, relaying and responding to information gleaned from all the other working parts of you. And now your job is to grow one of these incredible organs inside your mushrooming baby. But what exactly is the brain? And how can you best nurture its development?

ANATOMY OF A BRAIN

There are three parts to the human brain. The cerebrum has two hemispheres, left and right, and four lobes. This part of the brain controls motor function, cognition (thinking and reasoning), sensory impulse interpretation, speech, and emotional control. Research shows the left side takes a stronger role in language and logical processing, while the right side is more concerned with visual and intuitive processing, hence the terms “left” and “right”-brained, which you may hear in reference to a more pragmatic (left), or a more creative (right) child. The cerebellum is the receiving and regulating part of the brain, taking information from the sensory systems and the spinal cord, and regulating motor movements. The cerebellum consists of two hemispheres and is integral to voluntary movements like posture, balance, coordination, and speech, allowing for smooth muscular activities. At only ten percent of the brain’s total weight, the cerebellum contains about half the brain’s transmitting neurons, and is thought by scientists to have existed in our primal ancestors before the human brain even evolved. The brain stem is the part of the brain that includes breathing, heartbeat and blood pressure. It’s the vital part that primarily keeps the body alive. WHAT’S GROWING ON INSIDE?

First Trimester: Weeks 1 to 13

Rapid development occurs in the early stages of pregnancy. Within the first four weeks... Buy Pregnancy BUMP&baby issue 12 for the full story.