Couvade syndrome

As couvade syndrome ( double. Couver Scientists call, hatching), the phenomenon of developing pregnancy symptoms in men when he is with a pregnant woman. Men experience symptoms such as weight gain, mood swings, a growing stomach, vomiting and the like. According to the researchers, especially compassionate men would tend to have “parallel pregnancies” or “sympathy pain”.

Some men's hormones also change during their partner's pregnancy. Some evolutionary biologists speculate that this mechanism is intended to initiate paternal care.

See also

• Male child bed
• Mirror neuron

Web links

• Couvade Syndrome: When Men Get Pregnant in LexisNexis from October 8, 2007
• Couvade syndrome: Why expectant fathers have baby bellies in Spiegel Online from October 26, 2012

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Couvade Syndrome: When Men Get Pregnant in Der Standard, January 15, 2014
2. ↑ Storey, AE, Walsh, CJ, Quinton, RL & Wynne-Edwards, KE (2000). Hormonal correlates of paternal responsiveness in new and expactant fathers. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 79-95