‘PregMANcy’: When Expectant Dads Have Mood Swings and Nausea

When I was pregnant, I couldn’t get enough lemonade or ketchup potato chips (it was kind of like having the munchies for nine months straight). One time I even forced my husband to make me Kraft Dinner, which I hadn’t really eaten since the mid-80s (what grown woman still eats KD?).

All this to say that my husband, bless him, catered to my every whim (at least in the snack department). Had he turned around and told me that he was having weird cravings, too or that he was especially tired or moody ever since I got knocked up I would have told him to go to hell. (Does that make me a bitch? )

Apparently, he would have been justified in feeling this way. According to a new study, one quarter of expectant fathers experience ‘pregmancy’ symptoms including food cravings, mood swings, nausea and imaginary pregnancy pains.

The research, conducted by Pampers in the UK, looked at 2,000 men aged 16 to 65. Of those affected by ‘pregmancy,’ 56 percent experienced ‘nesting’ instincts (like decorating or tidying up the house), 26 percent had mood swings, 10 percent had weird food cravings (like pickled eggs and icepops), six percent felt nausea and three percent experienced imaginary pregnancy pains (!).

The phenomenon is a result of men being more involved in their partner’s pregnancy everything from attending pre-natal classes and ultrasound scans to wanting to support their partner emotionally, according to an article in The Telegraph.

It’s all very sweet, if you think about it, but it’s also…hmm, how should I say this…ANNOYING?! It’s wonderful that men are so in tune with with their pregnant partners. And we can’t say enough good things about dads being so involved in their kids’ lives (shared parenting is the norm these days in many modern households). But, uh, phantom pregnancy pains? Call me old-fashioned but that’s where I draw the line.

(Photo: Hemera)

 

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