First, oxytocin, the “bonding and love hormone” is increasingly abundant in female’s bodies during the birth process and nursing. Larry Young, a behavioral neuroscientist at Emory University, “oxytocin released during pregnancy have a role in motivation and feelings of connectedness to a baby.” (Young) Another hormone called, prolactin, the promotion of milk due to lactation promotes child care behaviors in mothers. In the research study of evolutionary economists Ingela Alger and Donald Cox, they state,“lactation have been found to be strongly implicated in mother-child bonding in a way that can conceivably affect the path of maternal care.” (Alger, Cox) The mother-child bonding and attachment is greatly associated with hormonal changes. Secondly, the development of grey matter, an extensive component of the central nervous system occurs after childbirth. A 2010 study, conducted by Pilyoung Kim, a developmental psychologist at Yale University observed the increase of “gray matter in brain areas such as the hypothalamus, amygdala, parietal lobe and prefrontal cortex” (Pilyoung) of women after pregnancy. The following brain regions are prominent for emotions, attachment, judgment and reasoning, and body senses beneficial for the child’s well being. As researchers say, the evident change in women's brains during pregnancy often last for two or more …show more content…
First, the asset in female role in parenting is known to be learned and adapted. In the research study of evolutionary economists Ingela Alger and Donald Cox, they state, “we consider the most rudimentary of traits—sex differences in gamete size and internal fertilization—and explain how they have been thought to generate male-female differences in altruism toward children and other preferences related to family behavior.” (Alger, Cox) The gender difference is pointed out to be aligned with the role of a parent. American Psychologists, Alice Eagly and Wendy Wood, author of the novel The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles, refined a social structure theory that supports the genders correlation with primary care. Stating, “women’s greater biological role in childbearing (pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation) coupled with cultural expectations for motherhood, place them in a different parenting role than men, who have a smaller biological contribution.” (Eagly, Wood) Secondly, the changes mothers experience in childcare demonstrates the significance of parenting within their identity. To support the Transition to Parenthood Hypothesis, the Wisconsin Study of Families and Works performed a participation study that shows the changes of individuals within parenting is connected to