Science of Moms

Mother’s Day is approaching and today, we’re going to look at some of the science that makes mothers who they are and how we can support them every day of the year.

We start off the show with one of Canada’s best-known personalities, Sangita Patel. She’s a Senior Entertainment Reporter for Entertainment Tonight Canada and the newest Canadian spokesperson for Cover Girl. She’s also a mother to two amazing daughters. We discuss the challenges of having a successful career in television and her life as a mom and how mothers everywhere can learn to find a balance.

We then talk with Liisa Galea of the University of British Columbia. She studies the neuroscience of motherhood and reveals to us that the concept of baby brain is real. But don’t let that fool you into thinking you can get away with antics. As Liisa explains, as the kids grow up, the maternal brain get sharper and even better at memory.

Our next guest explores the psychology of motherhood and the need for support throughout her life. She is Suniya Luthar and she explains that being a mother is a significant challenge, even if you are not trying to balance work and home life. Having the right support can make the difference between a mother who is happy and one who is subject to depression.

In our SASS class, we’re going to explore a tactic almost every mother uses on her kids: the guilt trip. We talk with Wendy Rote at the University of South Florida and learn that using guilt may indeed be a great way to raise fantastic kids.

If you enjoy The Super Awesome Science Show, please take a minute to rate it on Apple Podcasts and be sure to tell a friend about the show. Thanks to you, we’ve been nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award as Outstanding Science and Medicine Series. Let’s keep the awesome momentum going together!

Twitter: @JATetro
Email: [email protected]
Guests:

Sangita Patel
http://thisissangitapatel.com/
Twitter: @sangita_patel

Liisa Galea
Professor, Department of Psychology, UBC
https://galealab.psych.ubc.ca/liisa-galea/
Twitter: @liisagalea

Suniya Luthar
Foundation Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University
http://www.suniyaluthar.org/

Wendy Rote
Assistant Professor, University of South Florida St. Petersburg
https://www.usfsp.edu/psychology/portfolio-item/rote-wendy/

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