And God Made Fathers: How Pregnancy Changes Men Fathers are often dismissed in our society. They are often treated as mere sperm donors. They have not been told that God built in biological changes for them just as He did for women! They have not been told about the miraculous ways their body changes during their partner’s pregnancy and during fatherhood. It’s time we broke the silence and the secret! Men who are with the mother of their child often recognize she is pregnant early in the pregnancy, sometimes before it is “officially” confirmed. He perceives this subconsciously through scent communication, which happens through the scent hormones of affiliation called pheromones that develop in the expectant mother. The first effect this has on the man is that his cortisol rises. That’s a stress hormone, but it also is related to the protective and bonding instinct. As many as 90 percent of men will have symptoms right along with their pregnant partner. This is called “couvade,” or more colloquially “sympathetic pregnancy” or “pregnant dad’s syndrome.” Interestingly, primitive cultures recognized this, as I learned about couvade in an anthropology class many years ago. Sadly, many doctors in our culture have never heard of it. In primitive cultures, where the woman would give birth in a birthing hut, the man would have his own birthing hut, and he would experience his own pains of childbirth while the mother of his child was delivering the baby. Twenty percent of these men become quite ill, with symptoms that may include nausea, vomiting, headaches, backaches, toothaches, tiredness, anxiety, food cravings, and weight gain. If they turn to a physician, they are assured they have only a virus and that it will go away on its own. An interesting fact about these expectant fathers who suffer the worst kind of couvade is that once the baby is born, the men are hard-wired to recognize different types of baby cries. The other fathers have to learn that skill. Read More!!! catholicpulse/cp/en/columnists/thorn/070313.html
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 15:00:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015