Crying babies want all your attention
Posted Apr 10, 2014 7:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There may be a reason babies cry at night, beyond just being hungry; a Harvard study suggests, they are programmed to do so to delay the arrival of a younger sibling.
Researchers have found night waking often increases at around six months, making parents too tired for a romantic night together.
Breastfeeding at night also extends a mother’s post-birth infertility, further preventing future brothers and sisters.
The study’s lead author says, in areas where resources are scarce, babies fare better when there is a longer interval between siblings.
He suggests natural selection would have preserved the sleeping behaviours of babies who benefited from the delay of the next birth.
