Amongst its numerous other functions, the hormone Oxytocin acts in the immediate post-natal period to synergize "bonding" between mother and baby.
This is not necessarily a good thing.
Many new mothers become obsessed with their offspring to an unhealthy degree, expending resources on them that could be more advantageously deployed in other areas.
What's needed is a hormone antagonist that can be taken in the perinatal period to reduce or damp down the strength of the reaction, allowing the mother to see that in fact the child is just a disgusting noisy little blob of protoplasm the same as every other one, and there's nothing to choose between them. Hopefully the effect would persist as the nauseating baby transitions to vile snot-streaked squalling toddler to obnoxious egitistical demanding pre-schooler, allowing practical and realistic decisions to be taken.-- 8th of 7, Sep 26 2016 Oxytocin Blocker Oxytocin_20BlockerPossible similarity to older Idea [Vernon, Sep 26 2016] Oxytocin Receptor Antagonists https://en.wikipedi...eceptor#Antagonists [bs0u0155, Sep 26 2016] Antioxytocin Antioxytocinyes yes [bungston, Sep 26 2016] If I completely ignore the social thesis, it could be possible to come up with deciles of happy effective raising of kids, and then find people willing to chemically cause similar to highest decile behavior at their own lives.
vasopressin competes with oxytocin at receptors, with brain localization you could actually have more oxytocin at localized areas, and vasopressin localized to other areas. Vasopressin is a memory enhancing nootropic.
a pill (or snort) that causes people to raise children in a manner similar to the highest decile!-- beanangel, Sep 26 2016 //Many new mothers become obsessed with their offspring to an unhealthy degree,//
Such inhibitors exist and are in use <link>. Might be useful to administer at birth for those who, for whatever reason, are planning to give up the baby. Give me $3 million and the number of a couple of good research psychiatrists and I'll let you know.-- bs0u0155, Sep 26 2016 Would you take $3 and the numbers of a million good research psychiatrists ?-- 8th of 7, Sep 26 2016 /the numbers of a million good research psychiatrists/
#1, #2, #3, #4...-- bungston, Sep 26 2016 random, halfbakery