As I’m about to embark on the journey of motherhood in just 3 short months, my identity as an ambitious creative and being a dedicated mother have been on my mind.
Personally, pregnancy has led me to unpack unresolved traumas & insecurities.
This extra self reflection has in turn made my creativity flourish.
In fact, after a period of burnout pre- pregnancy, I don’t want to let go of this desire to embark on new project aspirations!
Yet society tells us that those two things can’t coexist, that you either pick being creative or the brain fog of motherhood.
Yet new studies are starting to show how interwoven motherhood and creativity actually are.
CURRENT RESEARCH
“In this period of extreme pressure, when mothers are going through massive changes in their bodies, diets, and hormones,”that is when creativity should emerge as a highly adaptive reasoning process.’
Rex Jung, Neuropsychologist, University of New Mexico
Erika Hayasaki’s groundbreaking article, “ How Motherhood Affects Creativity” explores the recent science discoveries that women may actually be more creative after becoming mothers. Although neuroscientists don’t quite understand the full creative impact that happens during motherhood, maternal rat brains might give us an answer. Why? Their brains have the same neurochemicals, extremely similar cortex & brain cells, a hippocampus, and an amygdala. These studies are revealing that rat moms are more inventive, fearless, and resourceful ( aka )the magic ingredients for creativity after having their babies. Their maternal brain now experiences:
- Quicker navigation skills
- More efficient ( less errors!)
- Improved Problem solving techniques
EMBRACING CHANGE
“ Diaper changes might cut into the time spent on creative work, but they don’t cut out the drive to do it.I’m still very focused on my career and work—it’s just about a different relationship to your work. And that changes whether you have a child or not.”
Erika Hayasaki
. Becoming a mother doesn’t destroy our creative relationship, but instead is simply a different era of our careers.
Think about it. D
uring and after pregnancy, our minds and bodies go through so many different changes and a new baby offers its own world of different challenges and new perspectives.
So, it’s only normal that our work will evolve with us during this new and exciting phase of our lives.
Embracing change could look like an array of things:
- Not being afraid to ask for help or leniency on deadlines ( especially during the pregnancy & postpartum phase)
- Time management ( how do the precious free hours differ from pre motherhood)
- Opening yourself up to a new schedule
- Multi- tasking
“Becoming a #mom (of twins no less) has personally helped me become a better #artist—I learned to be extremely efficient with my time, prioritize what’s important and let go of the rest, and #multitask like a champ.”
-Hein Koh
SHIFT THE MEANING
For centuries, stories have perpetuated the destructive persona of the self sabotaging depressed creative, the impulsive bohemian who can’t be tied to anyone or anyplace, and the broke artist.
These negative stereotypes shout the idea that creatives will always make uncommitted partners, disinterested parents and bored homemakers.
This way of thinking separates us from embracing the abundance of creativity that motherhood gives us, and discourages us from continuing to reach new heights in our creative self expressions.
INSPIRE
- Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist & poet, suffered insomnia during pregnancy which she claims gave her the inspiration to writeThe Bean Trees.
- Tania Unsworth, Booker Prize winner novelist, picked up writing again during her first pregnancy after years of putting it off
- Hein Kohn, NYC surrealist artist, broke the internet when she posted a picture of her breastfeeding her twin babies while working on her laptop
And the list goes on and on!
THE TAKEAWAY
Society likes to tell us that motherhood and creativity can’t coexist, but thankfully with new groundbreaking studies emerging, the story creativity and motherhood are starting to be showcased in a more positive light. One where our brains during motherhood are actually more creative! Studies showing quicker navigation skills, stronger intuition, and faster problem solving skills.