The pressure to reproduce

http://news.yahoo.com/no-kids-men-more-depressed-151526589.html In this article published on LiveScience.com, by Megan Gannon, on April 6, 2013, Gannon discusses the results of a small British survey done on men and women to poll their feelings on having children. Gannon notes that there is more social pressure on women to reproduce but that the men surveyed actually felt more depressed at the thought of not having children. The study seemed a bit biased, as it polled 81 women and only 27 men. Over half of the men said they experienced feelings of isolation, jealousy towards other parents and depression because they did not have children, while only a quarter of the women admitted to feeling the same way. The researcher, Robin Hadley, noted that most research done on the topic of children is done with women subjects, rather then men. We know that in Western societies, women are typically looked at as the primary caregiver and even sometimes, the more important of the two parents. I found it especially interesting that more women than men felt guilty about not having children. None of the men questioned felt guilty about not having children while a percentage of the women did. I feel that it is the norm in our society to push women to have children, but oftentimes people don't try to push men towards having children. Women may also feel more guilty for not having children because their body is built to create and carry a baby. Women are reminded monthly that they possess the ability to develop a fetus while males are specifically designed to aid in the creation of a baby. I also found it interesting to note that the participants of the poll were mainly white heterosexual individuals with full-time jobs. I wonder how this study would look if it was done on a larger scale, polling people across different racial, socio-economic and ethnic classes. How might results differ if they polled transgenders or people in commmited homosexual relationships, unable to create a child with both of their DNA. How would results differ if the topic of adoption was broached? Would people who were unable to have children feel less negatively about it if they were likely candidates for the adoption of a child? There are so many interesting results that a study like this would bring to the surface. I was primarily struck by this article because of the lack of research done on males in relation to childbirth and children.