Couvade Syndrome
Couvade comes from the French word couvee meaning “to hatch.” It has come to mean a man having a “sympathetic pregnancy.” Yes, this means that your partner could start to vomit, gain weight, and have many of the “joys” associated with pregnancy. Generally, sympathetic pregnancy symptoms begin at the end of the first trimester and increases in severity until the third trimester. The only known cure for couvade is to birth.
Doubting the Dads
Some people have doubted the reality of couvade syndrome. These doubters say that the weight gain that the father may experience is caused by the eating habits of the mother, nerves, or other changes that pregnancy makes in one’s life. The vomiting? Of course, that is blamed on nerves, too. What do the dads have to say about this? They don’t know what to think about vomiting, weight gain, and changes in sexual appetite. How can you tell everyone at work that you need to lie down because you have morning sickness? And, of course, they would stop vomiting if they could.
The Research on Sympathetic Pregnancy
This is something that has been researched and found to be quite real. Some men are more susceptible to couvade than others. For instance, if you and your partner have experienced infertility or if you were adopted, you could be more likely to experience couvade syndrome. There is no research going on at this point with same-sex partners, but that could change in the future. The truth is we probably won’t see a lot of research on this general topic for a variety of reasons including that it is not taken seriously by many people. Sometimes the partners who are experiencing this don’t even notice; they assume it’s just normal or they think that it is not related to pregnancy at all. (How long can you have the flu?) So, people, know that you are not alone and that you have the medical community backing you up. Eat some crackers, get out of bed slowly, drink some ginger tea, and try to get a bit of rest and know that birth is right around the corner. Don’t let anyone laugh at you when you say you’re gaining weight and maybe get some new clothes because you’ve outgrown the others. Realistically, all you can is to treat the symptoms with the help of your own practitioner. This can be helpful for some people. Many people will feel better as the pregnancy progresses, which is often a welcome relief for people at any point.
