<p>Know why your newborn cries incessantly at 2 a.m., when you may have some plan for love making?<br /><br />Well, according to a surprising hypothesis, the baby is delaying the conception of a sibling by keeping mom exhausted and not ovulating!<br /><br />"I am just suggesting that offspring have evolved to use waking up mothers and suckling more intensely to delay the birth of another sibling," said evolutionary biologist David Haig from Harvard University.</p>.<p>In other words, the drive to wake mom (or dad) up is an evolutionary one: </p>.<p>Babies that scream and suckle in the early hours are more likely to survive and have children themselves.<br /><br />There is logic to the idea, though.<br /><br />"It is clear that babies can get enough milk even if they sleep through the night," Haig told an NPR health blog.<br /><br />When times are tough - say during food shortages or when infectious diseases are common - babies and toddlers have a better chance of surviving when their parents wait a while before having another child.<br /><br />Nursing a child, especially at night, seems to hinder many women from resuming ovulation soon after a pregnancy.<br /><br />"So if a baby can force mom to feed him at night, she may stay infertile longer. And then the baby will have mom and dad all to himself. And a better chance of survival," Haig emphasised.<br /><br />It is probably not that simple, though, according to anthropologist Holly Dunsworth from University of Rhode Island.<br /><br />"It is an interesting perspective but it is not the only one," Dunsworth added.<br />According to Haig, she wants parents to know that children are quite robust and can handle a variety of environments.</p>.<p>"One should not be too anxious with minor variations in parental care," she noted in a study published in the journal Evolution, Medicine and Public Health.<br /></p>
<p>Know why your newborn cries incessantly at 2 a.m., when you may have some plan for love making?<br /><br />Well, according to a surprising hypothesis, the baby is delaying the conception of a sibling by keeping mom exhausted and not ovulating!<br /><br />"I am just suggesting that offspring have evolved to use waking up mothers and suckling more intensely to delay the birth of another sibling," said evolutionary biologist David Haig from Harvard University.</p>.<p>In other words, the drive to wake mom (or dad) up is an evolutionary one: </p>.<p>Babies that scream and suckle in the early hours are more likely to survive and have children themselves.<br /><br />There is logic to the idea, though.<br /><br />"It is clear that babies can get enough milk even if they sleep through the night," Haig told an NPR health blog.<br /><br />When times are tough - say during food shortages or when infectious diseases are common - babies and toddlers have a better chance of surviving when their parents wait a while before having another child.<br /><br />Nursing a child, especially at night, seems to hinder many women from resuming ovulation soon after a pregnancy.<br /><br />"So if a baby can force mom to feed him at night, she may stay infertile longer. And then the baby will have mom and dad all to himself. And a better chance of survival," Haig emphasised.<br /><br />It is probably not that simple, though, according to anthropologist Holly Dunsworth from University of Rhode Island.<br /><br />"It is an interesting perspective but it is not the only one," Dunsworth added.<br />According to Haig, she wants parents to know that children are quite robust and can handle a variety of environments.</p>.<p>"One should not be too anxious with minor variations in parental care," she noted in a study published in the journal Evolution, Medicine and Public Health.<br /></p>