*This has absolutely nothing to do with Justin Bieber, I Just thought the title was catchy.*
In college we often here girls talk about “baby fever.” Baby fever is the phenomena that is sweeping young woman all over the country. It refers to the feelings you get when you see other people around you having babies. But is baby fever a real thing? Or is it just our immediate thought when we see tons of cute babies around?
As I would consider myself someone with baby fever, I decided to look into it a little more. Baby fever isn’t a joke. It’s an actual thing that affects a ton of people, both men and women. Researchers at Kansas State University completed a study in which they asked men and women to rank their desires. Although certain factors can affect it, the majority of men and women ranked having a baby higher then other most other desires. For women it ranked above sex and for men it ranked right below.
There seems to be multiple factors that people consider when having a baby, but overall the desire is there for everyone- and baby fever is in fact very real.
Sources:
Kansas State University. “Ga ga for goo goo: Research explores the scientific basis for baby fever.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 August 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110823115422.htm>.
Desiree. “Science Confirms Baby Fever Is Real.” Parenting.com. Meredith Corporation, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
Pappas, Stepphanie. “See One, Want One: The Roots of ‘Baby Fever'” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
This topic is interesting in that baby fever occurred right after World War 2. People born in this time period are referred to as Baby Boomers because there was such a large increase of people having children. It is assumed that this occurred due to soldiers returning from war. If our country were to have baby fever, I wonder what factors are contributing this that are similar to the factor of soldiers returning from war after World War 2 and could we see something like the Baby Boom occur again.
This is an interesting topic brought to attention because I am a sucker for babies. I was 10 when my mom had my little sister so I am used to being around them and they never fail to suck me in. I do not know if it goes as far as a baby fever, because I definitely do not want one of my own anytime soon, but I will surely never decline to hold one or to oh and ah at how small and cute they are. As for some individuals however, I am sure the baby fever pertains to them, especially at an older age. I know for my mom, she saw new babies everywhere, and got caught up in the cuteness and wanted another of her own…so who knows, it could totally be plausible.