Mothers prefer celeb books, says survey

LONDON: Women stop reading serious literature and turn to lighter read after having children, research suggests.

They seem to turn towards celebrity books after birth, such as Victoria Beckham’s works, study said.

A survey of 6,000 women by Netmums.com, illustrate the effect of pressures on mothers’ time to read, Daily Mail reported.

Sixty per cent of mums admit that they read a lot less than they did before having children. More than 51 per cent women prefer anything that doesn’t take much effort and only 8.5 per cent choose non-fiction.   

Mothers were shown to swap novels and non-fiction books for lighter reads including celebrity autobiographies by the likes of Victoria Beckham and Jordan.

Eighty per cent said they do not have enough time to read and 55 per cent said they would rather sleep than take a book to bed.

Doctors have coined the term ‘’maternal amnesia’’ to describe an apparent decline in memory and brainpower after women become pregnant.

‘’Reading is a great way for mums to give their brains a daily boost, and it’s important for children to see their parents reading to become book-lovers themselves,’’ said Netmums co-founder Siobhan Freegard.  

Commonly known as ‘mumnesia’ or ‘nappy brain’ but researchers suggested its only short-term and probably due to sleep deprivation.

Evidence suggests that women who have had children were cleverer and grow more brain neuron connections which allow them to tackle a more demanding environment and protect their offspring.