Shay Omahen
From Drmills
Topic: Couvade Syndrome
Contributor: Shay Omahen
Class: Psyc 310, Fall 2008
Couvade Syndrome is not a syndrome that is popular or has a lot of studies and research on. Mason and Elwood (1995) described the Couvade Syndrome as the male experience of having symptoms of being pregnant because their mate is pregnant. More or less this syndrome is associated with sympathy pains of their mate having to deal with being pregnant. The actual word Couvade was originally derived from the French word “couver” in 1865 meaning “to brew, hatch, or sit on eggs” and the etiology is unknown (Mason, p. 137). The causation of it is still trying to be analyzed and understood. Theses males have symptoms that are associated with being pregnant such as: nausea, vomiting, decreased or increase appetite, diarrhea, constipation, headache, toothache, muscle tremors, weight gain, rashes and sties. With an increase in these symptoms in the first trimester, a decrease in the second, and another increase in the third gives this syndrome a U-shaped curve. Couvade Syndrome can range from behavioral to somatic symptoms depending on the experience of the father and the society he is from.
In order to gain a better understanding of Couvade Syndrome, Mason and Elwood (1995) tried to find its purpose in terms of the unconscious and conscious dynamics that occur in individuals. They put theses psychological and emotional feelings into eight categories. The first is the identification and a close relationship of the expectant mother. The closer a man is to his partner has a greater increase of obtaining the syndrome. Second, are having negative and positive emotions about fatherhood while the third is an expression of being jealous of the infant. This would be the father feeling the child as a threat over attention from the mother. The fourth category is associated with paternity issues as the father may not feel like he will be an adequate parent. Fifth are the roots of fatherliness and the sixth where panic of the pregnancy has to do with impotence and a short feeling of homosexuality. The seventh demonstrates the jealousy, not of the child, but of the mother for being able to bear children when the man knows it is impossible for him to. The eighth and final category is the defense against himself in order to protect the female from the man’s aggressive intentions. In summary of the categories, it is clear that a man who has Couvade Syndrome undergoes evidence of the mind being triggered with abnormal reactions that would not occur if his partner wasn’t pregnant.
Cultural Differences
Although the Couvade Syndrome is looked at here in the United States as being a disorder, in other cultures it is known more as a ritual for the pregnancy of their mates. For instance, The Australia Ritualised couvade display behavior of fathers not eating specific foods and being secluded from others or only able to be accompanied by his mate during pregnancy (Mason, p. 139). This ritual purposely shows the father giving respect to his partner in relating to her anguish and pain of the pregnancy. The strangest ritual is in Spain and Asia where the mother gives birth on her own and still maintains going to work while the husband stays at home in bed. These types of rituals are more derived from the pressures of society and its individual roles. This was described as the Bachofen-Tylor Theory that the couvade operates to protect paternity rights by illustrating to others that they are the biological father (Mason, p. 139). In other words, it is their claim to the community that they are the father of this child because they are assuming the roles of the female.
The differences between cultures and the amount of incidences of having Couvade Syndrome as a disorder are somewhat alike. For the United States, Mason (1995) shows that 22-79% of fathers have Couvade Syndrome, Great Britain ranging from 11-50%, Sweden with 20% while Thailand has a staggering 61%. Focusing on Sweden, men were noted to have a higher incidence of having the syndrome if they were attached to their mothers more than their fathers and if they experienced sexual intercourse after the age of 18. However, there was no effect on the syndrome with martial status, the amount of time they cohabitated, the number of partners they each had, or early separation from the parents whether it be moving out or death (Mason, p. 140). The comparison from Sweden to the United States differs in a way that portrays the Couvade syndrome’s causation as ranging from culture to culture due to societies norms and roles. For instance the United States correlates the Couvade syndrome with minority socioeconomic status, previous children, income, health status prior to pregnancy, involvement in the pregnancy, and stress. With these differences between cultures, it is difficult to predict when and if an individual will obtain Couvade Syndrome.
Animal Studies
Studies of certain mammals illustrating behaviors that depict the Couvade Syndrome have also been recorded. A study by Ziegler et al. (2006) showed instances of marmoset and cotton-top tamarin monkeys having changes in hormones and weight gain. With no changes in diet, these monkeys demonstrated the effects of what pregnant males undergo during their mates pregnancy. For marmoset monkeys, their weight from the first gestation to the fifth showed a significantly higher increase in weight while the tamarin’s showed a significant weight gain throughout the six month gestation. The tamarin monkeys also had their most increase in weight to be the last three months of their mates pregnancy accompanied by an elevated prolactin level. Changes in testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and oestradiol also occurred with their mates later in pregnancy which is closely related to human male fathers. According to Storey et al. (2000), males with Couvade Syndrome showed a higher increase in prolactin and cortisol for early and late postnatal pregnancies for their partners.
The reason for the tamarin monkeys to gain weight is because of their involvement in the offspring’s wellbeing. Males lose weight after the offspring is born because they are taking care of them and carrying their young around. Paternal care increases the offspring’s survival; therefore, in order to prepare for this weight loss, they put weight on during the pregnancy. This could be related to human males and their change in hormone levels because it “… plays a role in priming males to provide care for young” (Storey, p. 79). In regards to weight gain, it is clear to see human males also relate to tamarins and marmosets. Though human weight gain is dependent on diet, it can be associated with the increase in “energetic expenditure” due to physical activity (Rodriguez et al., p.828). Other mammals, such as rodents, carnivores, and gorillas have been known to show similar Couvade Syndrome-like symptoms. The Couvade Syndrome is a normal and necessary preparation for being a successful father. “From this perspective, the couvade syndrome has a normalizing function in preparing men socially, psychologically and emotionally for their future role” (Mason, p. 143).
Fig. 1. Sample 1 concentrations of homrmones for women (a) Prolactin, (b) cortisol, and (c) estradiol, and for men (d) Prolactin, (e) cortisol, and (f) testosterone tested during the Early Prenatal period (n = 12), Late Pre-natal period (n = 8), Early Postnatal period (n = 9), and Late Postnatal period (n = 8). Different letters on the bars indicate significant group differences relative to the Early Prenatal Group.
References:
Mason, C., & Elwood, R., (1995). Is there a physiological basis for the couvade and onset of paternal care. Int.J. Nurs. Stud, 32, 138-148.
Rodriguez, S.M.S, Hierro, F.P., Heras, A.M.F., Pimental, A.M., Montalbál, J.M.C., (2008). Body weight increase in expectant males and helpers of cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus): A symptom of the couvade syndrome. Psicothema, 20, 825- 829.
http://www.psicothema.com/pdf/3562.pdf
Storey, A.E., Walsh, C.J., Quinton, R.L., & Wynne-Edwards, K.E., (2000). Hormonal correlates of paternal responsiveness in new and expectant fathers. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 79-95.
Ziegler, T.E., Prudom, S.L., Schultz-Darken, N.J., Kurlan, A.V. & Snowdon, C.T., (2006). Pregnancy weight gain: Marmoset and tamarin dads show it too. Biol. Lett., 2, 181-183.
* found appropriate research references relevant to a topic, and submitted the research proposal on time. 5
- discovered, integrated and synthesized relevant information about the topic 5
- writing is of high quality: interesting, flows, analytic, organized 5
- used APA style referencing appropriately (including reference list) 4
- included a list of web links to the original articles cited (if available), and included a list of additional resources relevant to the
topic on the web 4 Paper copied to wiki text? YES
TOTAL = 23
