Fatherhood: The Modern Family Structure
We have all seen the term “Dad Bod” plastered over magazines headings for years. This phrase is often accompanied by pictures of a popular male celebrity that has recently entered the world of fatherhood. The topic of conversation for new dads is often focused on their physical stature - are they still hitting the gym and maintaining their diet? What the magazines don’t tell us is that behind the scenes new fathers experience significant changes to their hormone levels and brain structure that can drastically impact their mental health.
I recently wrote an article on maternal mental health (you can find the link to the article here). I was inspired by the many fathers that took the time to respond to the research I had presented. Partners that were curious to learn more about what their significant other was going through, and how how to best support her as a new mother. I wondered how many of them knew that postpartum depression can also be present in males. In fact, it is estimated that 10% of men experience some form of postpartum depression. This number signficantly increases when their partner is also experiencing symptoms of depression (Paulson & Bazemore, 2010). The combined impact on the mental health of new parents can take a toll on families. Therefore it is important that we not only support new mothers, but also recognize the changes that men experience when entering fatherhood.
Hormones
When we think of males, one of the first hormones you might think of is testosterone. What does testosterone have to do with becoming a father? When a women is pregnant, decreasing testosterone levels have been found in their male partners (Darby et al., 2017). This means that while mothers are spending months nurturing their baby in the womb, men’s hormone levels are also shifting in preparation for their new journey as a father. If all of these changes are happening during pregnancy, what happens when the baby is born? Well, if a father spends approximately 3 hours a day with their newborn there is a suspected further decrease in testosterone levels (Gettler et al., 2011). Quite a drastic shift when you consider that testosterone is one of the main hormones present in males.
Symptoms of low testosterone include fatigue, loss of muscle mass, weight gain, and symptoms of depression. When you combine a lack of sleep and shifting hormone levels, it is clear that becoming a father can take a toll on one’s physical and mental health. It is important to note that some males might not experience such a drastic shift in their hormone levels. However, research has now found that males who had higher levels of testosterone actually reported more stress with parenting (Gettler et al., 2011). This suggests a catch 22 situation - where low levels of testosterone can bring on depressive symptoms, but high levels of this very same hormone can decrease life satisfaction. Perhaps decreasing testosterone levels is a biological response set to minimize the experience of stress and help men adjust to their new role as a parent.
As testosterone levels decrease, oxytocin levels begin to rise in both parents. When we think about oxytocin, aka “the love hormone” we often think about the sharp rise in oxytocin that mothers experience after delivering their baby. Rarely, is it discussed that men also experience a similar rise in oxytocin levels when becoming fathers (Gordon et al., 2010). This suggests that men undergo a similar physiological shift to help promote nurturing, bonding and attachment with their child. However, rising levels of oxytocin can lead to increased fear and protectiveness in parents (Northwestern University, 2013). Therefore, a new dad might be more susceptible to feelings of anxiety when trying to keep his newborn out of harm’s way. The changes to hormone levels of testosterone and oxytocin that men experience are many ways two sided. On one hand their changing physiological state can help them care for their child, but on the other end this shift also can impact their mental wellbeing.
Brains
“Mommy Brain” is a term loosely used to describe the cognitive changes a women experiences when becoming a mother. Does that mean that the male partner should be left responsible for the rest of the cognitive overload that comes with caring for a newborn? According to brain scans of new fathers, men also experience similar structural changes to some of their primary brain regions. An increase in grey matter volume is found in the hypothalamus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex of new fathers. (Pilyoung Kim et al., 2014) These brain regions play an important role when it comes to caring for a newborn. The increase of the pre-frontal cortex helps parents process and respond to environmental cues such as the newborn cry. In fact, contrary to what some might believe, men have been shown to be just as good as women in recognizing and responding to their newborn cry (Gustafssn et al., 2013). This change was seen as the same brain region was equally as active in both males and females when hearing their baby cry. The changes to these brain regions might also help men self-regulate and manage their emotions when dealing with an inconsolable child. This could be why many new fathers report feeling that they surprisingly have more patience than before. It is clear that the changes to both the hormone levels and brain structure that men experience can be very helpful in their new role as fathers, however the impact of these changes must be taken into account when supporting new fathers.
What Does it All Mean?
On average, fathers are now more involved in childcare than they were in the past. For many of us, our fathers were not even present in the birthing room when we were born. Instead they received a call from the hospital that their baby had arrived, and any information about the distress that came with the delivery was omitted. In some cases, men also were not responsible for the diaper changes, late night feeds, and sleepless nights that came with becoming a parent. However, in today’s society the role of fathers has shifted drastically. Approximately thirty years ago, 1 in 70 Canadian families had a stay at home dad as the primary caregiver. In 2015 that number has increased to 1 in 10 families (Statistics Canada, 2015). In 2020, the number of families with a stay at home dad has likely increased more. In fact, many fathers are now taking advantage of paternity leave offered by their workplace in order to spend more time at home caring for their newborn. This new trend is reflective of the modern family structure.
With these changes in households, it is surprising to see that little to no information is available on supporting the mental health of new fathers. Im curious to know how many new dads have even had the opportunity to reflect on their own experience in becoming a parent and the changes they have experienced. As responsibilities shift for fathers, it is imperative that the mental health field catches up. More information and support needs to be provided to both mothers and fathers as they embark on their new journey into parenthood. When new parents are cared for and supported emotionally, they can then provide their newborn with the best care and nurturing that they need. Next time that you check in on a friend, family member or client that has become a new parent - be sure to ask both of them how they are adjusting and normalize the experiences they are having.
References:
Buckner R. L. (2013). The brain's default network: origins and implications for the study of psychosis. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 15(3), 351–358.
Darby E. Saxbe, Robin S. Edelstein, Hannah M. Lyden, Britney M. Wardecker, William J. Chopik, Amy C. Moors (2017). Fathers’ decline in testosterone and synchrony with partner testosterone during pregnancy predicts greater postpartum relationship investment 90, 39-47.
Gordon, I., Zagoory-Sharon, O., Leckman, J. F., & Feldman, R. (2010). Oxytocin and the development of parenting in humans. Biological psychiatry, 68(4), 377–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2010.02.005
Gustafsson, E. et al (2013). Fathers are just as good as mothers at
recognizing the cries of their baby. Nat. Commun. 4:1698 doi: 10.1038/ncomms2713
Lee T. Gettler, Thomas W. McDade, Alan B. Feranil, Christopher W. Kuzawa. (2011) Longitudinal evidence that fatherhood decreases testosterone in human males Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (39) 16194-16199; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1105403108
Paulson JF, Bazemore SD. Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2010 May 19;303(19):1961-9. doi: 10.1001/jama.2010.605. PMID: 20483973.
Pilyoung Kim, Paola Rigo, Linda C. Mayes, Ruth Feldman, James F. Leckman & James E. Swain (2014) Neural plasticity in fathers of human infants, Social Neuroscience, 9:5, 522-535, DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2014.933713