Is "Mommy Brain" a myth?

All moms have felt it at one point or another: That mind fog of forgetfullness we attribute to motherhood. Mommy Brain. When I was pregnant with our youngest, I was determined not to let it undermine my work -- and, for the most part, it didn't. So, is Mommy Brain just a myth?

Katherine Ellison, a journalist, mother, and the author of Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes Us Smarter, thinks there might be something beyond the cliche. “True, I was complaining a lot more,” she writes. “But I was also accomplishing more. Though I often felt frazzled, I was more motivated, excited by all I was learning at work and at home. … Although I’d had newspaper deadlines before, never had I faced the unparalleled urgency of a baby who needed to breastfeed, or a preschool teacher at close of day, both of which taught me a new kind of focus.”

It’s easy to assume fatigue is flakiness and chalk mistakes up to Mommy Brain. But does doing so set ourselves up for failure later? ... [More]

What do you think? Chime in at The 36-Hour Day.