Do you remember that time of the institute in which the girls of the same group behaved in a similar way? Do you remember that boys also had similar behaviors? The peer group acquired more strength than ever and when one undertook any action or made a decision, there was an imam effect and others made the same decision, emboldened by what was initiated by the former.
Well, something similar happens with pregnancies, so that when a woman becomes pregnant, women around her are more likely to get pregnant as well. There are those who will say that it is a logical question of age, however, studies confirm it: pregnancy is "contagious".
Pregnancy is spread ... by imitation
Already in 2012 we talked about it by mentioning a study that came to that conclusion. This study was carried out at the German University of Bamberg, where they analyzed the behavior of 42,000 women from 7,600 companies. In the study they observed that during the year after the pregnancy of a worker the possibility of their partners becoming pregnant also doubled.
The explanation given by the researchers was that, seeing a woman, partner or friend, pregnant or already with her baby, the other women experience the desire to be a mother and see their self-confidence increased in their abilities to be.
In Babies and more Five pregnant coworkers at a time: the story that shows that pregnancy is contagious Another study published in 2014 reached a similar conclusion when observing the interactions of 1,700 women for 15 years, from 15 to 30 years of age.
They saw that having a child (or not having it), it was largely related to what the friendships of each woman did. Something similar happened when deciding to have sex, committing to a union, using contraceptive methods or deciding to abort a baby. If one did any of this, women around them were more likely to do the same.
Thus, in the situation at hand, that of being a mother, they saw that when a woman had a baby, the probability that her friends also had a baby multiplied by two over a period of about two years. After those two years, the probability fell again.
Question of confidence
The researchers concluded, as we have already said, that when a vital decision is linked to moments of uncertainty, when there are many factors associated with that decision, many issues to assess, the fact of seeing someone known take the step encourages the rest to do so. too.
In Babies and more Being parents is also contagious: firefighters welcome six babies in seven monthsCome on, that seeing other nearby women as mothers can make them feel able to be mothers too at that specific moment in their lives.
Do you have that feeling? Do you think that being mothers other friends were also as a consequence?
Photos | iStock
In Babies and more | Four sisters, five babies and lots of gear! (video), Two twin sisters give birth to their two daughters two hours apart, Getting pregnant at the first
