Mommy gene may explain birth rate

KINGSTON, Ontario, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- A Canadian researcher suggests a "mommy" gene may explain the increasing number of women who decide against having children.

Lonnie Aarssen, a biology professor who specializes in reproductive ecology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., said basic principles of biology rather than women's newfound economic independence may explain the declining marriage and birth rate in developed countries.

"Only in recent times have women acquired significant control over their own fertility, and many are preferring not to be saddled with the burden of raising children," Aarssen said Friday in a news release.

The report, published in the current issue of the ecology journal Oikos, suggests inherited inclinations lead some women to pursue leisure and other personal goals that distract from parenthood.

"The drive to leave a legacy through offspring can be side-tracked by an attraction to legacy through other things like career, fame, and fortune -- distractions that, until recently, were only widely available to men," he said.

He speculates the trend will eventually subside because over time genetic traits influencing women away from motherhood will necessarily be "bred out."

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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