Avoid peer pressure, having children is a personal decision

Avoid peer pressure, childbearing is a personal decision (Photo: iStock)

People who spend time together tend to have similar interests. Pregnancy is no different. A study carried out a while back implied that some women get pregnant after their friends also conceived.

After one woman in each friendship had a baby, the likelihood that her friends would also have babies massively went up. Many mechanisms may explain the pregnancy contagion. The social influence of being surrounded by friends who are parents makes us feel pressure to conform to become a parent. Social learning is another mechanism.