Got a pregnant friend?
Well, you could only be a hop, skip and a menstrual cycle away from joining her on the pregnancy roller coaster.
Bring out the non-alcoholic champagne and celebrate the baby boom with your BFF!
According to an American study, having pregnant friends “increases an individual’s risk of becoming a parent”. Yes, risk. Because childbearing is risky business, after all.
The study focused on 1720 women who participated in the research over a period of 10 years.
From hair braiding to procreating
Researchers discovered that long-term BFFs (we’re talking high school buddies, here), often procreate at the same time as one another later in life.
“Results show that, net of confounding effects, a friend’s childbearing increases an individual’s risk of becoming a parent,” the researchers stated.
“We found this effect to be short-term and inverse U-shaped: an individual’s risk of childbearing starts increasing after a friend’s childbearing, reaches a peak around two years later, then decreases.”
Friends don’t let friends fall pregnant without them
Of course, there are a few flaws to this theory. Most people who grow up together are the same age and thus, most likely going to have kids around the same time. It’s kind of part of the whole “growing up” thing. You know, graduate. Get a job. Get married. Have a baby. Of course, some of us don’t follow this plan, but, you get the idea.
Second, this study only looked at friends who remain friends after high school. What about all the other mates who’ve made since then? You know, the co-worker/pregnant friend you bonded with over your similar dislike for your boss? Or your neighbour/pregnant friend who also enjoys drinking wine at 4pm? Well, before she fell pregnant at least.
Do they impact your desire to procreate too? Or is it just your adolescent mates that have this profound effect on your ovaries?
Whatever the case, it certainly explains why there are SO MANY BABY AND UTERUS photos from pregnant friends in my Facebook newsfeed. Baby photos breed more baby photos. #cluckinessexplained.
Looking for more bizarre findings from studies? Check out this study which confirms drinking wine is the secret to living longer.
