London - When thirtysomething women go gooey-eyed over someone else’s baby, their male partners often accuse them of getting broody.
But men can be just the same.
Both sexes may have an instinctive internal reaction which makes them yearn for parenthood, a study suggests.
Researchers said the physical and emotional desire to have a child arises - typically around the age of 30 - from a mix of social, psychological and biological factors.
“Baby fever is this idea that at some point in their lives, people get this sudden change in their desire to have children,” said Gary Brase, associate professor of psychology at Kansas State University.
“While it is often portrayed in women, we noticed it in men too.”
Professor Brase and his wife Sandra, who have two children, interviewed 1,200 people for their study, published in the journal Emotion.
They concluded that the classic theory of broodiness - that women want children because of internal biology and social pressures - was not entirely true because it was also present in men.
The research also suggested that women more frequently desired having a child than having sex, while men more frequently desired sex than parenthood.
Professor Brase said one of the key factors involved in broodiness was the “visual sensory things”.
He added: “Seeing a baby, hearing a baby, smelling a baby led some people to want to have a baby.”
Conversely, hearing a baby screaming, smelling a dirty nappy or being exposed to other “disgusting” aspects of babies led others not to desire parenthood. - Daily Mail