Men suffer pregnancy symptoms too
Yes we know what you’re thinking, how is that possible, you’re the one doing all the work, but new studies would suggest it’s true.
The fluctuation of hormones in fathers-to-be make them less aggressive and more caring. It is the prospect of fatherhood that brings about a change in them.
These hormonal changes help men to prepare to bond with their babies, and increases their likelyhood of them remaining faithful in their relationships.
This University of Michigan study is the most detailed of its kind to date.
Study
While they can’t claim to feel morning sickness, sleepless night or swollen feet, it seems fathers-to-be do suffer at least one symptom of pregnancy: hormones flying all over the place!
US researchers measured hormone levels in 29 couples at four points during pregnancy.
All four hormones – testosterone, cortisol, progesterone and oestradiol, a form of the sex hormone oestrogen – shot up in the women.
Amounts of testosterone and oestradiol fell in the men.
Levels of the other two hormones did not change, the American Journal of Human Biology reports.
The surge in women’s hormones in pregnancy has been well-researched but this study is the first to look in detail at men’s hormones. University of Michigan researcher Robin Edelstein said: ‘Other studies have shown that men’s hormones change once they become fathers. But our findings suggest that these changes may begin even earlier, during the transition to fatherhood.”
How interesting!
maternity & infant
Originally posted 2014-12-17 11:29:07.