Baby Talk | The father may experience symptoms during mother’s pregnancy
Recently I had an expectant father tell me he was gaining weight and had bouts of nausea during the day. He was actually experiencing more nausea than his wife who was pregnant. I explained to him he was experiencing something called: Couvade.
Couvade comes from the French word couver, which means to hatch. Couvade is defined as an involuntary manifestation of pregnancy in men with a partner who is expecting a baby. It is also called sympathetic pregnancy.
It is well documented expectant fathers may experience abdominal pain, bloating, back pain, lethargy, morning sickness, toothaches, food cravings, and aversions to some foods.
How common is it? Several studies in the United States have found it might be as prevalent as 25-52%. There have been reports 20% of fathers in Sweden report symptoms of couvade. An estimated 60% of men in Thailand experience Couvade.
A man’s body does not change outwardly, unless there is a significant weight gain, during pregnancy, like a woman’s does. When a woman’s body undergoes the physical changes of pregnancy does it help her to mentally prepare for the changes she will experience with the birth of her baby? If the mind/ body connection is real for a woman, then it would make sense a man’s body may also go through physical changes as it prepares for the emotional changes of becoming a father.
When you live with someone, you can take on similar physical characteristics. Your circadian rhythm, sleep wake cycles are similar. Some people even come to look like each other. You eat the same foods, laugh at the same jokes, enjoy your time together doing similar activities. With pregnancy you are also preparing together to welcome a new life to your family. Why not also experience similar symptoms.
The mind/brain is the most powerful organ in our bodies. Couvade may be a psychosomatic condition. It may be a response of the body to a stimulus in the mind. That does not take away from the reality of couvade, it may explain it.
Loving someone changes your life physically and emotionally. When you love someone, you would do anything for them. You are not afraid to show feelings in public. You accept imperfections as part of the uniqueness of the one you love. You become a better person as you unconditionally accept the other person.
To quote Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet-diplomat Pablo Neruda: I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride.
I encouraged the father to embrace his sympathetic pregnancy symptoms as a way of preparing him for the emotional changes awaiting the birth of his baby. I told him, he is about to experience a love he has never known before.
Katie Powers, R.N., is a board-certified lactation consultant and perinatal educator at Manatee Memorial Hospital’s Family BirthPlace. Her column appears every other week in Healthy Living in the Bradenton Herald. Contact her at katie.powers@mmhhs.com.
