Fatherhood Wellness: Dad Bods

We all know the immense changes that happen to a woman's body with motherhood - especially if that mother has carried the precious little bundle and gave birth to their baby. But just because dad's don't undergo the physical changes of pregnancy - does that mean they bond less? Do their bodies change? How does a man transition to a "father"?

Well, just because dads do not undergo such drastic body changes, it does not mean they do not encounter any body changes. Scientists and researchers are just beginning to discover that men and women face both experience hormonal and brain changes with parenthood. So being a dad is just as much of a biological phenomenon as being a mom.

What changes?

First, there is a noted drop in testosterone. Testosterone (also known as the "male hormone" plays a hugely important role in male fetal development and puberty. Testosterone drives men to find a partner and be more "manly" but once a man becomes a father, there is less need of a drive to seek a partner but instead focus more inwardly on family and their new child. A five-year-study done in 2011 by anthropologist Dr. Lee Gettler followed 624 single men from the ages of 21 to 26. Dr. Gettler found that while all men experienced normal age related drops in testosterone, the 465 men who became fathers in those years experienced a 34% decrease in testosterone compared to those who stayed single or married. Many studies have found this drop to occur either before or after the birth of their child.

Now, the men reading this are probably groaning and don't want to lose their "macho" but Dr. Gettler also found that fathers who experienced drops in testosterone experienced an increase in rewarding bonding hormones such as oxytocin and dopamine. Men caring for their children then experienced a neurochemical reward of feeling more bonded, increased contentment and happiness with their families.

There are also notable structural changes to the male brain to ensure fathers exhibit key skills of parenting. In a study done by Dr. Pilyoung Kim, 16 new fathers were placed in MRI machines twice at various stages of becoming a new father. Interestingly, Dr. Kim found structural changes mirroring those experienced by new mothers - changes in areas in the brain linked to empathy, attachment and nurturing. The study concluded that these changes are inevitably due to the steep learning curve experienced in parenthood both by mothers and fathers. Although there were similar changes in both moms and dads in Dr. Kim's study, another neurological study done did notice some key changes between fathers and mothers. Another study by neuroscientists at Bar-Ilan University in Israel found that mother's experienced primary changes to the core of their brain which enables them to care, nuture and detect risk. Whereas men experience changes on the outer surface of the brain where higher more conscious functions sit such as thought, goal-orientation, planning and problem solving.

The research found in these studies show that although father's do not undergo the same physical and hormonal changes as mothers do with pregnancy and childbirth, these changes are the physiological attributes of bonding and parenthood. So while some men's body's may change outwardly with focusing more time on their families and children, these are not the only changes in a "dad bod".

Resources
Longitudinal Evidence that Fatherhood Decreases Testosterone in Human Males
Neural Plasticity in Fathers of Human Infants
Synchrony and Specificity in the Maternal and the Paternal Brain: Relations to Oxytocin and Vasopressin