Days to go: 48听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听
Waist size: 102 centimetres (40 inches)
Quite aside from singing football chants to our unborn daughter, my husband has also started swotting up on what to expect from the birth and in the weeks immediately afterwards. I鈥檓 sure this is quite normal 鈥� the big day is less than seven weeks away now 鈥� but while the biological changes I鈥檓 going through are quite obvious, I鈥檝e been wondering if the hormones are starting to kick in for dad as well.
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Last year, I wrote about some of the biological changes men go through when they become fathers. For example, Ruth Feldman of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel, found that levels of the 鈥渃uddle chemical鈥� oxytocin rise in men as well as women when they become parents. It seems to be linked to the behaviour as well as the simple fact of parenthood: fathers with the most oxytocin played more with their children and seemed more attached to them than dads with less of the hormone.
In a separate study, Feldman found that physical play with children also seemed to boost fathers鈥� oxytocin levels in its own right .
鈥淭hese findings underscore the need to provide opportunities for paternal care to trigger the biological basis of fatherhood,鈥� says Feldman. I鈥檒l remind my husband of that when I鈥檝e had a sleepless night and the baby won鈥檛 stop crying.
Down with testosterone
However, oxytocin isn鈥檛 the only hormonal change men experience after the birth of a child. Their testosterone levels drop, possibly to dissuade them from playing the field and encourage them to focus on their families instead 鈥� indeed, men with higher testosterone levels appear to be less likely to give their children attention.
A hormone called prolactin, better known for its role in triggering breastfeeding, also seems to increase in men during the later stages of their partner鈥檚 pregnancy 鈥� and men with higher levels of prolactin seem more alert and responsive to their infants鈥� cries.
Feldman has just published a study exploring this relationship in more detail. She measured oxytocin and prolactin in 43 first-time fathers during the six months after their child鈥檚 birth, and found that higher prolactin was associated with encouraging their child to explore and interact with new toys ().
Fortunately, my husband doesn鈥檛 seem to have developed any of the more extreme changes associated with phantom male pregnancy, or Couvade syndrome 鈥� a controversial diagnosis, based on such symptoms as weight gain, morning sickness, insomnia and stomach pains. After all, who else could I rely on to bring me cakes, plump my pillows and lift heavy objects out of cars?
Read previous Bumpology columns: What you can teach a fetus, Fed up of the booze and cigs police, Why can鈥檛 my baby sleep when I do?, Choosing the sex of your child, Pregnant at the cheese and wine party, Is my baby making me forgetful?, What does an amniotic cocktail taste like?, My fetus is smarter than an earthworm, Ultrasound reveals breastfeeding mechanics, Boxing clever with the kung-fu fetus.
