The Brases haven’t looked in-depth at how people’s baby-lust evolves once they have children. But they have noticed that women’s average baby-fever rating went down after they had children, while men’s went up. What gives? “I have noticed the change in my own desire after I had kids,” says Brase. “Babies were more attractive and I wanted to hold them.”

Perhaps women are more realistic, recognizing the enormous amount of work that baby fever, actualized, takes? “Maybe,” surmises Brase, “women were starting at a higher place, realizing raising children is really difficult.”