TY - JOUR T1 - Evidence of subjective, but not objective, cognitive deficit in new mothers at one-year postpartum JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/2021.06.07.447303 SP - 2021.06.07.447303 AU - Edwina R Orchard AU - Phillip GD Ward AU - Gary F Egan AU - Sharna D Jamadar Y1 - 2022/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/08/03/2021.06.07.447303.abstract N2 - The experience and even existence of cognitive deficits in the postpartum period is uncertain, with only a few scientific studies, reporting inconsistent results. Here we investigate cognition in 86 women (43 first-time mothers one year postpartum, and 43 non-mothers). Mothers and non-mothers showed no significant differences on measures of objective cognition (verbal memory, working memory, processing speed or theory of mind). Despite the absence of objective differences, mothers self-reported significantly worse subjective memory than non-mothers. To interpret the difference between objective and subjective measures of memory, we investigated relationships between subjective memory, objective memory, and wellbeing. Mothers, but not non-mothers, showed a positive correlation between subjective and objective measures of memory, indicating mothers are ‘in-tune’ with their memory performance. Mothers also demonstrated a positive relationship between subjective memory and wellbeing (sleep, anxiety and depression), where better wellbeing correlated with higher subjective memory. This relationship was not apparent in non-mothers. The results suggest that poorer sleep, higher anxiety and higher depression are related to reports of poorer self-reported memory in mothers. Our results add to our growing understanding of maternal cognition at one year postpartum, with no evidence of cognitive differences between mothers and non-mothers.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest. ER -