'Promises a new route through the parenting wilds' Sunday Times
'Powerful, honest and reassuring' Professor Gina Rippon
'A vital new narrative . . . Meticulously researched, compelling and compassionate' Elinor Cleghorn
'A compelling book that upends popular notions about becoming a parent . . . reminds us why scientific research is a feminist issue' New Stateman
'I wish I'd had this book when I first became a mother' Emma Jane Unsworth

New parents undergo major structural and functional brain changes, driven by hormones and the deluge of stimuli a baby provides. These neurobiological changes help all parents - birthing or otherwise - learn how to meet their child's needs. Yet this emerging science is mostly absent from the public conversation about parenthood. Untangling insidious myths from complicated realities, Chelsea Conaboy reveals that the story that exists in the science today is far more meaningful than the idea that mothers spring into being by instinct. Weaving the latest neuroscience and social psychology together with new reporting, she uncovers unexpected upsides, generations of scientific neglect and an empowering new narrative of parenthood.

"Mother Brain feels like a book that will inspire today's new parents: socially alert, inclusive, kind . . . Conaboy promises a new route through the parenting wilds" - SUNDAY TIMES

"A compelling book that upends popular notions about becoming a parent. Conaboy beautifully expresses her experience as a mother and weaves this together with interviews with parents, the history of the idea of maternal instinct and an overview of research on how parenting changes the brain . . . MOTHER BRAIN reminds us why scientific research is a feminist issue" - NEW STATESMAN

"[Conaboy] deploys her journalistic skill to bring this complex subject to a readable level . . . Mother Brain isn't a parenting manual but rather a work of pop science jam-packed with neurobiological research; it's both fascinating and surprisingly readable . . . Highly recommended" - LIBRARY JOURNAL *starred review*

"Engaging . . . The author deftly translates scientific studies into accessible prose that speaks to needs and anxieties that many parents share" - KIRKUS REVIEWS

"An illuminating examination of the changes the brain goes through during parenthood. Surprising and enlightening, this should be required reading for all caregivers" - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

"Mother Brain offers a science-based reassurance that 'unlike a rigid instinct, [parental aptitude] also can be repaired and redirected' by any motivated caregiver" - SCIENCE MAGAZINE