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| |  DG DISPATCH - ENDO 2000: Hormone Changes In Dads Too As Birth Of Child Approaches By Cameron Johnston Special to DG News TORONTO, ON -- June 22, 2000 -- Call it a testament to the power of love, or just call it nature at work, but researchers at Queen's University in Kingston, Canada have conducted a study showing that fathers-to-be undergo profound hormonal changes - not quite as significant as the changes their wives are going through - but important nonetheless, as the birth of their child approaches. The study results, discussed here in a press conference at the Endocrine Society meeting, looked at what happens to a man's hormones when he is about to become a father. Researchers recruited "highly motivated" men from pre-natal classes to collect saliva samples at the same time every day, from the 10th week of their wives pregnancy, to three months after the delivery of their child. Hormones including cortisol, testosterone and estradiol were measured in the saliva. The researchers found that men's testosterone production leveled off significantly in the three weeks preceding the delivery of the child, then increased markedly after the birth. Their production of estradiol, meanwhile was significantly higher in dads-to-be than in the control group while the levels of cortisol were lower in soon-to-be fathers. The testosterone production patterns were interesting to researchers, said principal investigator Katherine Wynne-Edwards, a biologist at Queen's University. In men, normally testosterone production fluctuates wildly on a daily basis, but in this study, 25 per cent of the men saw a complete stabilization in testosterone production as the birth of their child approached. Dr. Wynne-Edwards said it is difficult to interpret the meaning of the study, but the hormonal changes probably reflect a subtle closeness between the man and woman that strengthens as the pregnancy progresses. This does not suggest that the hormones are "turning on" paternal behavior, nor do they indicate a man's potential effectiveness as a father. However, some men, as with some women, acquire their parental instincts earlier than others and these hormonal changes might be a subtle way of modulating the man's behavior so he does adjust more readily to his coming role as a parent. Nor does the evidence suggest that there is any reason to think men who are not biological fathers would not feel the same hormonal response. Dr. Wynne-Edwards said, a further aim for study is to look at fathers-to-be who are separated from their spouses, such as armed forces personnel, and to look at a similar study in a culture where men do not assume such an active role in either child-rearing, or
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