Studies on the family dynamic of a pregnancy impact all family members including new fathers who experience bodily changes. Expecting fathers in studies found that their wife’s pregnancy took a toll on their testosterone, making it drop.
Scientists believe the reason for this was men with more testosterone are more attractive to females. They are less likely to settle down, but most new fathers experience a dip in their testosterone in response to their body preparing to have a family and a less likely drive to seek out other partners.
Expecting fathers might experience psychological and physical distress during their wife’s pregnancy that comes with difficulty sleeping, anxiety, weight gain, digestion issues, body aches, and possible vomiting. This is more common with new fathers than expected and can be labeled as an actual medical condition in new fathers. It’s called sympathy weight/couvade syndrome; it is super common. It is linked to a father’s psychological desire to be more involved in the baby’s birth.
A neuroscientist studied another interesting finding at the University of Denver. It found that after 2-4 weeks or 12-16 weeks of their baby’s life, new fathers had more areas of empathy and nurturing regions show up in their brain scans.