The Curious Phenomenon of Nesting

Written by Gabrielle Powell

Are you pregnant? Do you have the overpowering urge to organise your sock draw, clean your fridge, or tear down the kitchen cabinets?

            

There is a well-known anecdote within my family that my Mother ripped out the kitchen cabinets three days before I was born in order to prepare for my birth. I’m touched that my Mother was already considering an interior design that would be most appealing to me - a newborn child - but to her she was simply trying to create the best possible environment for the two of us. Regardless of how irrational this design choice appeared to my Father, it happened. The thing is, in the animal kingdom, this behaviour isn’t unusual at all.

The thing is, in the animal kingdom, this behaviour isn’t unusual at all. Scientists have long observed how various animals, such as bird or rabbits, carefully organise the environment for a newborn. However, although “nesting” (which traditionally refers to a suite of maternal behaviours like nest-site selection, nest building and nest defence) might anecdotally appear to also be prevalent in human beings, have any studies actually investigated this interesting phenomenon? 

The common blackbird- known for its distinctive nest

Psychologists at McMaster University inCanada aimed to do just this. To do so, they designed two separate studies: a large online study comparing pregnant and non-pregnant women, and a longitudinal study that tracked women throughout pregnancy and into the postpartum period. Both studies measured 3 distinct behaviour types: nesting, space preparation and social selectivity. What they found was that women in the third trimester of pregnancy showed significantly higher levels of nesting compared to non-pregnant women and women in the first and second trimester of pregnancy. Furthermore, similar results were found for space preparation and social selectivity. In other words, the researchers found that nesting is a thing in human beings.

So, what’s the mechanism behind this behaviour? Well, broadly speaking, the researchers believe that nesting behaviours in human beings serve the same evolutionary purpose as in animals: to prepare for (and protect) a newborn baby. By preparing a safe environment before birth, the mother can promote bonding and attachment between her and her children. In other words, it turns out that my Mother wasn't acting in a crazy, irrational or unusual way at all. I’ll be sure to tell my Dad this.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you ever find yourself in the third trimester of pregnancy, then don’t be surprised if you begin to pay attention to your home environment a little bit more. Although you may want to warn you partner about this quirk of human beings, as it came out of the blue for my Dad!

References

Anderson, M. V., & Rutherford, M. D. (2013). Evidence of a nesting psychology during human pregnancy. Evolution and Human Behavior, 34(6), 390-397.