Women More Responsive to Babies’ Cries than Men

A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) states that women are more responsive to the cries of babies than men. It also found that both men and women react to the cries of autistic babies as they are higher pitched.

The study was done on 18 adults and they were asked to let their minds wander and the researchers played white noise interspersed with the sounds of an infant crying.  Brain scans later showed that hearing cries of babies the women's brains went into alert mode while the men's brains continued their resting state.

"Determining whether these responses differ between men and women, by age, and by parental status, helps us understand instincts for caring for the very young," said study co-author Marc H. Bornstein, Ph.D., from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).  

"Previous studies have shown that, on an emotional level, men and women respond differently to the sound of an infant crying," Bornstein added.

The study found no difference in the brain patterns between parents and non-parents, even though the activities in the brain differed between men and women.

The cries of babies later diagnosed with autism were also played. According to a research, babies with autism have louder cries with short pauses compared to those without autism. Both the men and women reacted to the cries of these babies.