A new study from Aarhus University challenges the widespread belief that women are naturally “hardwired” to wake up more easily to a crying baby than men.

The research reveals that differences in how men and women respond to nighttime crying are minimal, despite mothers still performing three times more nighttime care than fathers.

The researchers conducted two separate studies to investigate the phenomenon. The first experiment with 142 adults without children found that women were only slightly more responsive to very quiet sounds.

“Contrary to popular media portrayals, our male participants did not sleep through baby crying. We had a lot of variability on how people woke up to the sounds during the experiment, and a lot of overlap between our male and female participants,” explains Professor Christine Parsons from the Department of Clinical Medicine.

The researchers found that women were approximately 14 percent more likely to wake up to whisper-level sounds – regardless of whether it was a baby crying or a regular alarm sound.

However, once the volume increased, there was no significant difference between men and women.

Significant imbalance in care

In the second study, 117 first-time parents in Denmark documented their nighttime caregiving over a week.

“The results showed that mothers were three times more likely to handle nighttime infant care than fathers. Our mathematical modelling showed that the large difference in nighttime care cannot be explained by the minor differences we observed in sound sensitivity between men and women,” says PhD student Arnault Quentin-Vermillet, who co-authored the study.

Social factors behind the difference

The researchers point to social factors rather than biological differences to explain the disparity in caregiving.

“We think that there are several factors that explain our results, probably intertwined. First, mothers generally take maternity leave before fathers take paternity leave. Mothers then gain more experience in soothing their baby early on than fathers,“ says Christine Parsons and adds:

“Second, when mothers are breastfeeding at night, it might make sense for fathers to sleep through.”

Gender equality in parenting

The study contributes to the broader conversation about gender equality on parenting by challenging assumptions about men’s responsiveness to infants.

It also highlights how recent policy changes in Denmark, which increased, earmarked paternity leave from two weeks to eleven weeks, might help balance childcare responsibilities between parents.

The researchers now hope there will be more studies looking at how fathers and mothers adapt to parenthood, as hormones and sleep patterns change.

Behind the study

Study type: Observational study

Partners: 

External funding: Carlsbergfondet

Conflict of interest: None

Link to scientific article: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Femo0001478

Contact

Professor Christine Parsons
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine – Interactive Minds Centre
Phone: +45 87162127
Christine.parsons@clin.au.dk