Men Are Just As Broody As Women, Expert Suggests

According to new research, men suffer deep feelings of depression, loneliness and jealousy if they are unable to have children.

During a presentation at the British Sociological Association annual conference, Robin Hadley, of Keele University, revealed that a recent study suggests not only are men almost as broody as women (59% of men and 63% of women said they wanted children), but they become deeply distressed by fatherlessness.

According to Medical News Today, of the 27 men and 81 women without children who took part in his survey, half of the men had experienced isolation because they did not have any kids, more than a third experienced depression, and 69% had experienced yearning for a child, in comparison to just 11% of women.

The Daily Mail reported that Hadley believes men have been overlooked when it comes to feelings of broodiness

Mr Hadley said: 'There is very little research on the desire for fatherhood among men. My work shows that there was a similar level of desire for parenthood among childless men and women in the survey, and that men had higher levels of anger, depression, sadness, jealousy and isolation than women and similar level of yearning."

His findings undermine a common myth that women are more likely than men to want children.

Huffington Post UK blogger and parenting author Neil Sinclair -- an ex-Commando who has been a stay-at-home dad to his three kids for the past 10 years -- agrees that men are often overlooked when it comes to discussions of broodiness.

"I meet a lot of new and expectant dads and they often tell me that they do feel overlooked and sidelined at times, and that their deep feelings and emotions about fatherhood are regarded as somewhat of an oddity and worthy of comment - whereas it is 'expected' that a woman would have these emotions," he told HuffPost UK Lifestyle.

"While I can honestly say I never felt a feeling of 'broodiness' for having children, I just accepted the fact that once I had found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I would be a dad."

Tamsin Kelly, editor of Parentdish, also believes these findings ring true, but adds that there are additional social pressures placed on women.

"Men are just as likely as women to go gooey over the cute baby in the buggy. That said, I think it's women who feel more social and biological pressure to get on and start a family, hence the guilt if they don't feel ready or worry that they are letting their partner down if that famous biological clock isn't ringing."

Take a look at these pictures of dads with their newborns. Do you think there's any doubt that men feel as broody as women?