ORGni night, in millions of houses, the same ritual is consumed: The newborn cries from the other room, the mother gets up and goes to calm it downwhile the father sleeps. “It is the natural maternal instinct,” it was said. A certainty as strong, as it is wrong. At least according to a team of Danish researchers. Their last studyin fact, made for the University of Aarhus, overturning decades of convictions: Fathers perceive the crying of babies with the same intensity as mothersbut something very different from biology determines those who really get up to console the child.
Parenting: mom feels, dad no? It is not true
The researchers conducted an innovative study To analyze the real differences in the sound perception between men and women during night rest. The team, led by Professor Christine Parsons, involved 142 people without children in a controlled experiment, monitoring their reactions to different acoustic stimuli.
The results were surprising: contrary to expectations, Men did not show that “selective deafness” so often attributed to them.
The experiment that changes everything
Indeed, women and men react in a very similar way to sounds and, only when it comes to very weak noises, such as whispers, women are slightly more sensitive, with a difference of 14%. But as soon as the volume increases, This small difference completely disappears. “Our male participants were not insensitive to the infantile cry – clarified Professor Parsons – We have observed a wide individual variability in sound reactionswith significant overlaps between the behaviors of Men and Women ».
The mothers deal with the night assistance of the children three times more than the fathers and this depends on a division of stereotyped and rooted roles (Getty Images)
Parenting, enormous disparity in night care
To check how these data translated into real life, The researchers involved 117 couples of neogensasking them to document those who actually deal with night assistance for their children for a week. The picture that emerged confirmed a significant imbalance: The mothers were engaged in night care with a triple frequency compared to the fathers. However, Dr. Arnault Quentin-Vermi, co-author of the study, underlined a crucial aspect: «Our mathematical model has clearly shown that this enormous disparity in night management cannot be justified by the slight perceptual differences that we have detected among the sexes ».
The real reasons behind the imbalance
If it is not biology that determines who gets up during the night, what are the decisive factors? The researchers identified Different causes interconnected, all of a social and cultural nature. The first key element concerns the acquisition of skills. Since in most cases it is the mothers who first use parental leave, they naturally develop greater familiarity with the needs of the newborn from the first days of life. This early experience translates into greater security in interpreting the child’s signals and providing appropriate care.
Breastfeeding as an organizational factor does not work
A second practical aspect is linked to breastfeeding. When the mother breastfeeds naturally during the night, it may appear logical that the partner continues to rest to be more efficient during the working day. This scheme, apparently reasonable, ends, however To consolidate a assignment of roles that goes beyond the simple physiological need.
Parenting, the Italian panorama: lights and shadows
Moving from the Danish context to the Italian one, the data take on even more worrying tones as regards the equity of gender in family management. The mothers’ index developed by Istat for Save the Children reveals a two -speed country. In the north better, southern Italy has much more complex scenarios. Basilicata, Campania, Puglia and Calabria are in the most critical positions of the national ranking.
The professional price of motherhood
The same numbers relating to the world of Italian work tell a story of systematic penalty of women who become mothers. The so -called “Child penalty“, The two sexes hits asymmetrically. 91.5% of fathers are busymuch more than children without children, witnessing how paternity is often perceived as an element of stability and responsibility that promotes job placement. For women, The mechanism works in the opposite direction: from 68.9% of employment between children without children, it drops to 62.3% between mothers.
Beyond biological prejudices
In short, research shows that There are no significant innate differences In the ability of men and women to respond to the night needs of infants. And, this data should push to reconsider family dynamics, overcoming stereotypes that automatically attribute certain responsibilities to one of the two parents. The way towards greater equity in parentingnecessarily passes through the recognition that the differences in care behaviors, They are mainly the product of social and cultural buildingsrather than of immutable biological predispositions.
Towards a new balance, future prospects
The results of this research invite a wider reflection on the meaning of shared parenting. If really men and women have similar skills in perceiving and responding to the needs of newborns, Family and social policies should be rethought To encourage a more equitable distribution of care responsibilities. The goal is not only to lighten the load on mothers, but also of allow fathers to fully develop their parental potentialcreating a more balanced and sustainable family environment for all family members, including children.
I woman © RESERVED REPRODUCTION