From Gut to Greatness: The Power of Maternal Instinct

The moment a woman becomes a mother, something shifts deep within her a quiet but powerful inner voice awakens. This voice, often called a mother’s intuition, has guided women for generations, helping them protect, nurture, and raise their children long before medical technology or parenting books existed.

“From Gut to Greatness” is about honouring that wisdom trusting the instincts that rise from within while embracing the ancestral practices that have stood the test of time. Maternal intuition is not just a feeling; it’s a force that shapes the way mothers connect, decide, and care for their little ones.

Trusting Your Gut – The Science of Maternal Instinct

1. Immediate, Brain-Based Responsiveness to Baby Cries

When a mother hears her baby cry, her brain jumps into action turning on the parts that help her move, talk, and care for her baby, often before she’s even consciously aware of the cry. This happens in mothers worldwide and is considered a natural, built-in response. These findings come from a major study led by Dr. Marc Bornstein at the National Institutes of Health, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in 2017, titled “Neurobiology of culturally common maternal responses to infant cry.

2. Pregnancy-Driven Brain Remodelling

Pregnancy causes major changes in a woman’s brain. A study tracked one woman’s brain from before conception through two years postpartum and found a 4% decrease in Gray matter, especially in areas related to social thinking and emotions. At the same time, white matter the brain’s communication network got stronger during pregnancy but returned to normal after birth. These changes are linked to rising hormone levels like estrogen and progesterone and likely help prepare the mother for bonding and caring for her baby. This ground-breaking study was published in Nature Neuroscience in 2024 by researchers at UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine.

3. Hormones as the Invisible Architects of Maternal Behavior

A complex hormonal orchestra including oxytocin, prolactin, oestradiol, progesterone, and cortisol plays a pivotal role in shaping maternal behavior.

Oxytocin: Known as the “love hormone,” oxytocin is released during childbirth and breastfeeding. It enhances bonding and makes mothers more sensitive to their babies’ cues by activating brain regions that control caregiving behaviours.

Prolactin: This hormone rises throughout pregnancy and after birth, supporting milk production and also encouraging nurturing and social bonding behaviours.

Estradiol and Progesterone: These hormones change the brain’s hormone receptor sensitivity, preparing mothers to respond more strongly to infant needs. Progesterone must drop around birth to allow maternal behaviours to start fully.

Cortisol: Often linked with stress, cortisol also appears to increase maternal alertness and engagement with infants, helping mothers communicate vocally with their babies.

Stories of Gut Feelings in Motherhood

Candy Peterson is a mother and marketing expert who gave a popular TEDx talk sharing how her mother’s intuition helped her spot early signs of melanoma in her daughter, when doctors initially missed it. Her story is both emotional and inspiring, showing how gut feelings can sometimes be more accurate than expert advice. She encourages trusting inner knowing and following intuition even when the path seems uncertain, as this helped save her daughter’s life.

You can listen her : Candy Peterson TEDx talk

Dr. Susan Albers, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, explains maternal intuition as a real neurobiological response rooted in brain chemistry and bonding hormones like oxytocin. She talks about how mothers develop this gut-level awareness through deep connection and experience with their child. Dr. Albers advises moms to tune into their intuition while distinguishing it from anxiety, emphasizing that intuition can be strengthened by being present and attentive to the child’s need.

How MUMYU Reviving Maternal Instinct for Today’s Mothers

MUMYU is dedicated to reviving and honouring maternal wisdom by deeply consulting with traditional midwives and grandmothers. This collaboration ensures that their products are rooted in decades, sometimes centuries, of passed-down knowledge about mother and baby care. For example, the MUMYU Mustard Seed Pillow was designed after consulting traditional dais (midwives), focusing on designs that support comfort and health of newborns.

MUMYU’s Mothers and Granny handmade collections include beautifully crafted hand-knit clothing and crochet blankets. These items are made with special care while singing lullabies during the knitting process, a tradition believed to transfer positive energy and calmness to the finished products. This practice adds a spiritual and nurturing touch to everyday maternity and baby essentials. The collection features swaddling sheets, Cholas, Jablas, and Reusable Cloth Nappies all created with deep respect for traditional wisdom and learning from gut feelings of mothers .