Brain

I just bought a book on the female brain, which should be interesting and/or make absolutely no sense. I'm specifically interested in the brain of the breastfeeding mother who has recently returned to work. It seems to me that this is a prime situation where a person's actions boldly contradict the brain's wiring.

A favorite argument of cave-people who are morally opposed to mothers who work is that it flies in the face of nature. Maybe they have a point. Pregnancy and motherhood do jumble up a woman's brain--or perhaps the better word is that they unjumble it. I remember when Julie was in graduate school and had January off. She nearly clawed the walls of our apartment, she was so bored. As a guy who relishes the summer schedule of a teacher, I thought she was borderline cuckoo. But anticipating her 16-week maternity leave, I brainstormed all sorts of hobbies to keep her busy.

It wasn't necessary. Something about motherhood took away her need for activity, or it provided exactly the kinds of activities she craved. So now being pulled from those activities, being pulled from her daughter, is understandably hard. Plus there's breastfeeding, which adds another hormonal component. Her instincts during the day tell her to feed her child, but what she does is attend business meetings and pump in the lactation room. How do working mothers, particularly breastfeeding ones, avoid going insane?

Julie must be just as curious, for there she is on the couch reading The Female Brain.