Unhappy Mothers Talk More To Baby Boys, Study Finds

BOSTON (CBS) – According to a study from the University of Cambridge, unhappy mothers talk more to their baby boys.

Previous research has suggested that how well a child's parents get along can impact that child's development, behavior, and school performance.  But researchers wanted to see if there is an impact specifically on how parents talk to their infants.

So they studied how 93 first-time parents verbally interacted with their seven-month olds. They found that the more dissatisfied a couple was with their relationship, the more the mother spoke to her baby, uttering 35-percent more words and starting around 20-percent more conversations that other women in more satisfying relationships.

But interestingly, this was only noted when the baby was a boy, not a girl.

It's not clear whether the moms were complaining to their babies or speaking positively, but experts say an unhappy mom may be trying to compensate by putting more time and effort into her relationship with her other close male social partner, her son.