Sympathetic Pregnancy

I personally think that sympathetic pregnancy is the sweetest thing in the world.  If I am correct, then about eighty percent of expecting fathers experience this wonderful phenomenon.  It is also known as Couvade Syndrome.  Some dads only have a few sympathy symptoms, while others have them all, except for carrying the baby of course, and then there are the handful that do not experience any.

My baby's father knew I was pregnant before I did.  He started having symptoms very early on, before I even suspected.  He was throwing up, having cravings, and gaining weight, although not obviously.  He is a rather skinny man to begin with.  He has a slight muffin top now, but that is fine with me.  He has been as moody as me the entire time, which has caused some confrontation every so often, but I just remember he is being sympathetic and it makes me smile.

I just adore how he is suffering all of these things so that I don't have to endure it alone.  Not that I want him to suffer, but it is sweet that a man can deal with a lot of the same things we do, and they know it, so they don't complain, and they don't accuse us of exaggerating everything.  It is nice to have a partner that I can share this with.

Lately, I've been reading up on why they have symptoms.  They're not pregnant, so why would they be having symptoms?  Apparently, it has something to do with the biology in the mating world.  In the animal kingdom, males have surges of hormonal activity the same as females.  This goes for humans, too.  The hormones in a pregnant woman become present somehow in her partner.  I suppose this is from being around her and spending time with her.  I am not totally sure how it works, so let's just call that my personal opinion.

There are some psychological factors that seem to play a part in sympathetic pregnancy as well.  I read on a pregnancy website that some reasons for expecting fathers experiencing symptoms are because:

• He feels actual sympathy.  He wishes it were him instead of her.
• He is nervous about fatherhood.
• He is jealous of all the attention she gets and wants in on it.

For more details on this, go to whattoexpect.com.

Whatever the causes may be, it is truly a wonderful thing when a couple can endure the pros and cons of pregnancy together.  It, in turn, brings them closer as a couple, as best friends, and as a family with their new baby.  I know we are both looking forward to the arrival of our new baby, even if we do drive each other crazy with all these mood swings.