Hormones and Men

So you think only women have to worry about hormones? Nah-ah.

Studies by Canadian biologist Katherine Wynne-Edwards and psychologist Anne Storey have shown that men experienced increased levels of prolactin toward the end of their partner's pregnancy. This is the same hormone found in lactating mothers. Furthermore, new dads, and even dads-to-be, showed a spike in prolactin and cortisol (a stress hormone linked with mothering) as well as a decrease in testosterone when holding a newborn. Men reacted in the same way when just holding a doll wrapped in blankets that previously held a newborn. The study reveals that the more the hormones change, the more the men feel compelled to care for and comfort a child when he or she cries. But, in order for these hormones to kick in, the dads need to be present and close during the earliest stages of the baby's life. This is definitely a topic worth exploring further.

Personally, I would love to see my husband on the hormone roller-coaster with me for a change. I told him that he is required to cry in the delivery room; even if I have to kick him in the nuts, he WILL cry.