Dr. Philip G Ney, MD

Because the unborn baby attaches so tenaciously to the mother through his or her placenta, and because the mother at a very early stage detects that attachment, it is very easy for the mother to become attached to the baby.  It is different for men.  Men attach in two ways.  The maternal behaviour elicits a paternal response.  It is the "nesting" and "egg laying" behaviour of the goose that makes the gander so aggressively protective.  It is the change in the behaviour of a woman and the change in her shape that makes men nurturing and protective.  Unfortunately, in this day and age, women try to conceal their shape if they are pregnant and they feel embarrassed about showing "nesting" behaviour.  They forget that the more knitting, crocheting or stocking up of food they do, the more they illicit, in men, paternal, protective, and nurturing behaviour.