What's the Deal With Baby Fever?

So this is a relatively new and odd phenomenon that I've started noticing more and more as people my age around me start musing about wanting kids and stuff... Obviously, I'm aware that the whole concept of baby fever is something that happens all the time to most people, but its just sort of odd hearing that kind of talk from people I know.

I ended up doing some quick research on it, just because I was curious to see what the deal was and why more and more people have been starting to feel it. NBC News posited a few theories:

Gender Roles

 As a result of the socialization that many young girls experience in our culture, and the reinforcement of the idea that women should be mothers and caretakers, when young women start reaching a point of adulthood, they start to feel as if they are old enough to be supporting a family. Since they are told that having kids is "what women do", as soon as they start self-identifying more as "women" rather than teenage girls, they want to fit in, and start feeling compelled to adhere to the idea that they, as now-women, should raise their children.

Biological Nurture Reflex

 As human beings, we share many traits and instincts as a biological "animal"- we have sex drives and the desire to reproduce. Additionally, we have nurturing and parenting instincts within us that kick in once we have children to raise. According to Gary Brase, professor of psychology, he is quoted in the NBC article saying that "We looked at whether baby fever was due to people looking at someone else's child and then having that trigger misplaced nurturance." However, it appeared to be a dead end theory.

While these potential answers for why we feel baby fever did seem to answer some of my questions, I remain wondering: why now? What suddenly kicked in around 19-21 years that had so many of my friends thinking to themselves: "I want a baby"?

My personal theory? I think it's just a natural thing to yearn for as a result of being raised by (hopefully) loving parents. As you grow up, you understand that raising a child together is something that brought your parents together, making them happy, and bringing you into this world as a physical manifestation of love between your parents. You see the happiness that two of the most important people in your life have experienced as a result of it, and therefore you seek to emulate it.

I'm sure that these feelings come and go, being initially manifested early on (children playing house/family), and  fading away as you develop. But once you get to a certain point in your adolescence, you have internalized this idea of what happiness is (which is being a part of a socially acceptable family dynamic of your own).

Regardless of the explanation, I know that this is just a natural part of most people's lives. But it's just very interesting to theorize about why people feel this way, and why when people do feel it, its such an intense sensation.


References

Mapes, D. (2011) Baby Fever Is A Real Thing- And Not Just In Women, Study Claims. NBC                 News. https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/baby-fever-real-thing-not-just-women-study-claims-1c6437144

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