What is it about giving birth...
 

... that makes a woman confuse children's names with each other?

Growing up, my mother always got the names of my siblings mixed up... in fact she could reliably get my name wrong at least three times (unintentionally using the names of my brother or sisters) before finally landing on my own! She also constantly got the names of my friends wrong in a similar fashion... however I don't remember this ever being a problem with adults she knew.

I used to think it was just my mother, but apparently most of my friends have reported the same phenomenon with their mothers.

Does anyone know what causes this? Will I someday become a little confused when I have children of my own?

:D

Well, I don't think it's just a result of giving birth. I get my son's names confused all of the time. Perhaps witnessing the birth has the same effect?

My mother did and still does this lol.

I solved the problem by only having one child :thumbsup:

My mother still does this and the youngest of us is 43:lol: You'd think she'd have it right by now....
I don't do it much at all, if ever....but then I only have two kids, a boy and a girl. However, I have been known to call the spouse by my son's name when he pisses me off:lol:

My mom didn't do it, but my dad does. He'd also accidentally use his sisters' names and at times my mom's name before he got to mine, including my brothers' names also.

I don't think it's due to giving birth. Back when I worked in group homes I did it too. Ten boys, sometimes go through four names before you get the right one. I think it's just due to having so much on your mind that your brain gets garbled.

I constantly call my two kids by the other's name. I have no idea why. It's like they take control of your mouth

I only have 3 kids but I'm so bad that I will sometimes throw the name of the cat in the mix. I'm the Dad so i've never given birth.

The cat! Hahahahaha... :lol:

Both of my grandmothers do this from time to time, and always have, as has/does my mother- they call my brother and I by the other's name. My dad and grandfathers, that I can recall, have never done this.

I have not given birth, but I do this with my cat and I only have 1. My grandfather does this all the time. He will sometimes go through 2 aunt names, 3 cousin names, and a couple great-grandkids names before getting it right. We just learned to respond to anything. I think it's just when you speak fast or are trying to get the person's attention quickly. The urgency gets the tongue-tied.

What's the cat's name?:D

I'm the youngest, so my mom would go through my sister, my brother and sometimes the pets before getting to my name. My sister and I get it the worst, though - we can be sitting NEXT to each other and she'll still call us the other's name.

I think it's something to do with vocal patterns - they've been calling out a particular name so much that the pathway gets worn down in your brain, and it's hard to fire a different memory neuron that hasn't been used, or they've all been used so much that the signals are garbling... or something. You know, something like that. :rolleyes:

This thread makes me giggle every time I come back to it. :D My mom called me yesterday, and STILL managed to call me the wrong name! Even though she called me!

*bump*
I mix my 3 girls' names all the time. When I had only one, I kept mixing her the dog's name when she was in trouble. The dog was always in trouble, so I was used to saying his name when scolding.

My kids often call me Mom and then laugh and call me Dad... they are just as bad as their Mom who mixes names up all the time...

Me? I never make that mistake. I just say, "hey" or "hey you in the pink dress"...

I am an ONLY CHILD, okay... and my mom still mixed up my name with the dogs', on a regular basis. Now that the dogs are dead, she still mixes up my names with my (male) cousin, her sister, and some other folks. My dad does it, too... mixes me up with his younger sister all the time. ALL THE TIME.

abaya, I love you - you always make me laugh so much! hahaha. :icare:

A handicap of this sort was more likely to exist before the pregnancy and birth than be caused by it.

If you could demonstrate a correlation or causation between the same woman (or man) before the birth of their child and afterwards, then you'd likely have something to go on.

As is, tho, it seems more likely that these people have always just been poor with people's names. Or that their age (typically 40+ by the time children are grown enough to be truly responsive by name) has taken it's toll on their mental faculties, moreso than the actual birth of a child.

It's analogous to noticing that most politicians are deceitful. It's more effective to assume that they were deceitful before assuming office than believing the office itself inspired the deceit.

Now....when your son decides to be a female impersonator, would 'hey you in the pink dress' still apply? :D

It's not the age that takes its toll on our mental faculties, it's the kids.

Seriously, I switched names of kids/dogs well before age 30. I think my brain just flashes back to the name/word I use the most in a given circumstance. Example: I worked nights for years. Now that I work days, I keep telling people to have a nice night at 9am.

It's not just kids, as people have pointed out. I do this with our 3 cats and 1.5 dogs (ours plus the neighbors' dog, who is not really ours but spends a lot of time here).

I wonder if there's some "name gyrus" in the brain the way there's a face gyrus, and if it just sometimes gets scrambled on the way to your mouth...hmmm...why has nobody researched this yet! Inquiring minds want to know!

my wife & i mix up our 3 boys' names often, usually in hurried situations, though. if i'm relaxed and looking right at one of the little hellians, i can usually get his name right.

it is clearly being passed on as i get called mom at least twice a day........

I only have one child, so this is not a problem.... but MY Mom often calls my son by one or both of my brothers' names before finally landing on the correct name! :lol:

Come to think of it, she does the same things to our pets, too...

Situation just like this in the Army. Everybody wears the same clothes. Stress kicks in and you're digging for names.

"Smith! Zimin! Caudill! Jackson! Dubois! YOU! YOU WITH THE BIG NOSE!"

yea, i dont think its giving birth. I regularily mix up my ex's name with my birds name....

Now that's funny.