Men suffer pregnancy symptoms too: Fluctuating hormones make fathers-to-be less aggressive and more caring
- The prospect of fatherhood brings with it a dip in two key hormones
- Helps men prepare to bond with their babies – and stop them straying
- University of Michigan study is the most detailed of its kind
They can’t lay claim to morning sickness, sleepless nights or swollen feet.
But it seems that fathers-to-be do suffer at least one symptom of pregnancy.
Research shows that men’s hormones go into a spin in the months before becoming a parent for the first time.
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Fathers-to-be suffer at least one symptom of pregnancy - a dip in two key hormones. A fall in testosterone may make men less aggressive and more caring. A drop in oestradiol helps prepare them for new responsibilities
The prospect of fatherhood brings with it a dip in two key hormones.
The changes may help men prepare for bonding with their babies – as well as stop them from straying.
In these most detailed study of its kind, 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.
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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.
The changes may help men prepare for bonding with their babies – as well as stop them from straying
‘We don’t yet know exactly why men’s hormones are changing.
'These changes could be a function of the psychological changes that men experience as they prepare to become fathers, changes in romantic relationships or even physical changes that men experience along with their pregnant partners.’
A fall in testosterone, for instance, may make men less aggressive and more caring.
It may also be nature’s way of keeping them faithful to their partner.
A drop in oestradiol may also help prepare men for their new responsibilities.
It seems, however, that men are pretty relaxed about fatherhood.
Cortisol and progesterone – the two hormones that did not rise in the men as the birth become closer – both go up when stressed.
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