New Harvard University study claims that babies cry on purpose to stop their parents having sex

A new study, conducted by Harvard University, speculates that babies cry at night to prevent their mum from having sex and giving birth to a sibling.


The theory, published in the journal Evolution, Medicine and Public Health, claims that infants who cry in the early hours of the morning are unconsciously applying a survival of the fittest technique.

ParentHerald.com reports that by keeping their parents to tired for sex the babies are more likely to survive.

Evolutionary biologist David Haig told NPR-Shots "The waking becomes a different issue. ... I'm just suggesting that offspring have evolved to use waking up mothers and suckling more intensely to delay the birth of another sibling."

Researchers say that typical baby behaviour, like crying while hungry, is an innate evolutionary response.

Stopping mum and dad getting busy by crying at night may help ensure the infant's survival during times of food shortage and disease.

This is because there are no siblings to take the parents attention or share resources with.

Anthropologist Holly Dunsworth says crying at night may well benefit mothers by encouraging love and affection.

"There are so many good juices running through infant and mom," Dunsworth adds.

"It's rewarding beyond the calories and hunger satiation for everyone involved”

When you look at it from that perspective, waking up to feed looks more like cooperation than conflict."

"The expectation that mothers and infants 'should' have uninterrupted, consolidated sleep is, in many ways, a historical artifact," evolutionary biologist Katherine Hinde wrote.

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