Can your partner have pregnancy symptoms

Other events also happen around a pregnancy, especially the birth of a first child, and could independently affect hormone concentrations. Changes in sexual activity, shifts in the social priorities of the couple, time off work, or the arrival of a mother-in-law for a potentially stressful extended visit are obvious candidates.

Either way, this kind of research has quietly expanded the horizons for research on hormones in men--testosterone alone is clearly no longer the sum of the man.

Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Read more from this special report: The Science of Fatherhood. She offers the following explanation: When pregnancy symptoms such as nausea, weight gain, mood swings and bloating occur in men, the condition is called couvade, or sympathetic pregnancy.

Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. For example, if a woman does most of the shopping and cooking while pregnant, a combination of her associated cravings and increased food intake can have spillover effects on her partner such as weight gain, heartburn, and indigestion. Expecting a child breaks established routines, which can naturally lead to unanticipated physical changes or unfamiliar mental situations. And despite the lack of consensus surrounding the origins and prevalence of Couvade syndrome, the medical community does agree on one notion: When it comes to something this ill-defined and complicated, more communication is always better than less.

By Christopher Dale February 25, Save Pin FB More. Gottesfeld also thinks that Couvade syndrome doesn't necessarily cease with childbirth. Be the first to comment! No comments yet. Close this dialog window Add a comment. Add your comment Cancel Submit. Close this dialog window Review for. Back to story Comment on this project. An online survey following up on the study came up with these reasons why men experienced this weight gain:.

Since there's no concrete explanation as to why some men experience couvade syndrome, it's tricky to pin down exactly what's going on in the body that causes these symptoms in men. The best advice we can offer here is to have expectant fathers work on managing their stress levels.

Setting up the right tools to handle stress will set you up into fatherhood, as raising a child comes with drastic life changes and new responsibilities. Expectant fathers can sometimes experience leg cramps, back pain, headaches, and other unexplainable pains from couvade syndrome.

Again, there's not enough research conducted as to why these physical symptoms appear — but you'll have to learn how to roll with these punches as they come. Some studies speculate that these symptoms could very well be psychological as an uncontrollable urge to compete with the mother because of the important role they will have in their child's life.

No matter the reason for why your partner is experiencing pain, be sympathetic and offer your support when you can. His body may not be undergoing the same hormonal changes as your body — but his symptoms aren't to be ignored.

Having open communication throughout the pregnancy will help both of you cope through these pregnancy symptoms and strengthen your bond all the more. Give him the love and attention that he needs to feel better by being a source of comfort for him.

He'll reciprocate by being the person you count on most while pregnant too. Above all, you need to take care of yourself, not only during pregnancy but post pregnancy too. Invest in a comfortable postpartum recovery plan with a Bellefit postpartum girdle. These girdles are so much more than high-quality shape wear undergarments — they provide medical-grade compression to ease postpartum pain, provide abdominal and back support, and can help you confidently fit into your slimmer clothes.

Your body goes through incredible changes during pregnancy and again in your recovery as your uterus shrinks back to size and your hormones adjust to baseline.

While losing your pregnancy weight will take a lot of hard work and persistence, you can depend on the support of Bellefit girdles. No matter what odd symptoms come your way as expectant parents, just know that you'll come out of it together much stronger — and all worries will disappear when you gaze into the eyes of your newborn baby.

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