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AryaNunya t1_j93j6jl wrote

That's a pretty hardcore reproductive instinct there. Do they do it if their food and other resources are tight, or all the time?

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RainManToothpicks OP t1_j93nm2i wrote

> "Three crucial factors that influenced how likely a female was to commit infanticide were: Living in a harsh environment, Motherhood that involved particularly high energy costs for the female, High competition for resources with other individuals. When such pressures reach a threshold, mums seem primed to kill. Hrdy is impressed with the work, though she questions why humans were not included. Hrdy has also studied infanticide in humans and points out that, in our society, mothers rely on particularly high levels of social support during the early stages of their child’s life. If that support isn’t there, human mothers may be more likely to neglect their children, even to the point of death."

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AryaNunya t1_j93nxq1 wrote

So, stress-induced infanticide, makes sense.

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CompletelyPresent t1_j93lg46 wrote

What percentage of human moms would kill 2 other babies to guarantee their baby would never be poor?

My guess: 60%

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DRScottt t1_j956lc5 wrote

They do the reverse, they force birth so their competition is less likely to succeed.

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[deleted] t1_j93nueu wrote

Kids growing up in foster care because their psycho mom killed two babies.

Not a great start to life

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akaDingbop t1_j94bzix wrote

Therefore decreasing the number of potential mates for her baby as well

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RainManToothpicks OP t1_j94co4s wrote

Future competing females and males of the babies too, hadn't thought of this angle, wonder if they go after one gender more than the other

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triviafrenzy t1_j94unn7 wrote

I guess better than when their daughters are competing for a spot on the marmoset cheerleading team.

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