Male Softy Study: Dad’s Testosterone Levels Drop After New Baby Is Born
- Posted on September 15, 2011 at 2:38am by
Liz Klimas
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Ever wonder what your dad was like before you were born? A new study says he was probably a little more macho — more manly even.
After a baby is born, a study states, a father’s levels of testosterone to go down, making him more nurturing and committed to the family.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science by Canadian researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland, measured testosterone levels in 600 men when they were 21 and four years later at 25. What it found was that testosterone levels in men who had had children dropped significantly more than men who hadn’t yet. And, men who spent three or more hours a day with their child had an even lower drop than men who weren’t as involved in care.
The New York Times has more:
“The real take-home message,” said Peter Ellison, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard who was not involved in the study, is that “male parental care is important. It’s important enough that it’s actually shaped the physiology of men.”
“My hope would be that this kind of research has an impact on the American male. It would make them realize that we’re meant to be active fathers and participate in the care of our offspring.”
Watch the New York Times webcast on the study:
So if you’re a father who pre-child said you would never be one of those dads that put a dress up crown on your head to amuse your daughter, and then you did, your hormone levels could be why. But as Gizmodo states nicely, these changes are nothing to scoff at; they actually help dads be better parents.
[H/T Gizmodo]
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Comments (59)
lucyloo
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 2:30pmto take from this “study” that fathers are like mothers is INSANITY….more of the same a rat is a dog is a boy nonsense…
males can not be females and we don’t want them to be ….we need MEN not mice…..if testosterone “drops” it could be from anything….exposure to the plastic in diapers for all I know…..
lets not give society another way to destroy marriage…little infants need mothers…at home…mothers and infants need daddy to protect the nest and bring home the bacon…
these studies just serve to make people believe that birthing a baby, nursing a baby, etc can be done by anybody….homosexuals included…..
be careful when you read these crafted “studies” and look for the hidden agenda.
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 5:33pmThey also need Dads. The study did not say or even imply that men become neutered or maternal. It said their aggressive hormone drops off, not away completely.
My take-away is that children need both the man and the woman to grow into whole persons. Another nail in the coffin of homosexual adoption, if you ask me.
Report Post »RationalJames
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:53pmLucy…What you’re saying has absolutely nothing to do with what the article is talking about. Take a chill pill.
Report Post »Jennifer_D
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:34pmRe: Canadian researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland, measured testosterone levels in 600 men when they were 21 and four years later at 25. What it found was that testosterone levels in men who had had children dropped significantly more than men who hadn’t yet. And, men who spent three or more hours a day with their child had an even lower drop than men who weren’t as involved in care.
Clearly this study supports the fact that fathers are just as important as mothers in shaping their infants’ experiences. That is a no-brainer! Of course fathers should be involved in their children’s lives and be active, concerned, caretakers with mother. It is sad that so many babies are not born with that stability and assurance.
Report Post »red_white_blue2
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:44pmI am a father of two sons that are almost adults. I agree with you completely that indeed it would be wonderful if more Dads were involved with their children as they should be.
Report Post »tbeachhead
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:24pmYeah…well tell that to my eight kids…
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:01pmthat’s exactly what I was thinking…ask my kids, I KNOW they would disagree.
Report Post »slvrserfr
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:08pmMeanwhile, a woman’s hormones spike, making them more emotional and easily angered as they become more protective of their offspring.
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:13amlook at the apes, the males will rage and kill the babies. good thing dads’ testosterones drop.
Report Post »DTOM_Jericho (Creator vindicator)
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:27amI disagree with this study completely and think it is more new castrati, feminize men, propaganda. All I know is I have a buttload of kids and can still squeeze the trigger just the same. In fact, BECAUSE of my kids… well, you get the point. DTOM(Don’t Tread On Me)
Report Post »Wyld_goose
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:23pmif testosterone is dropping right after the baby is born, it has a lot to do with something I’m currently experiencing called Sleep Deprivation!! And I have to say that during my single days, I never lost it over anything. But I have to tell you, I have no problem spending time in prison for messing someone up real bad, that would hurt my children. Pappa Bear is here to stay
Report Post »ejbonk
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:07amThis sounds like my TAX DOLLARS were WASTED ,by Funding Bullshite Research Projects. Hello here is where the Stimulus Money Dis-appeared too.
Report Post »Spqr1
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 5:21pmWhat part of CANADA did you not get?
Report Post »Hephzibah
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:35amI wonder when they will run out of topics for these pointless researches. There can’t be many left. Maybe I can get a grant to discover peoples’ favorite day of the week. Wait, I know…how about a grant to learn which Obama vacation people think was the most expensive. Never mind, it will be years before they run out of these boondoggles.
Report Post »hi
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 9:33amHow did randomness know that a man needs to slow down and take care of his child, then proceed to lower his testosterone?
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:53amEr,
Cause and effect?
Rape and ice-cream sales have a direct correlation, but, ice-cream sales do not cause rape.
If you remove the father when the baby is born, and his T levels still drop, then you have evidence.
If his interaction with a baby causes his T levels to drop, it could be no different than watching “Lifetime movies” twice a day, or spending all day at Towncenter holding the wife’s purse while she is shopping, looking for just the right pair of shoes to go with the dress she is going to let hang in the back of the closet for a year, but still spent a week’s pay buying it, in spite of the fact you are doing without red meat on the bbq for over a month to make ends meet, while busting your __ at work…
(I digress) LOL
Either an incomplete review of the study, or a flawed study.
Report Post »imho
ying
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:50amStudies say global warming is happening, too, so don’t believe every “study” you read about………unless you just want to!
Report Post »cactusjoe
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:25amUnless your a minority.Then it makes you run like heck. Since more then 75% are born out of wedlock and raised in single parent homes.
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:44amSo basicly every deadbeat Dad could argue that the birth of the child they refuse to take care of caused horemonal damage which in turned caused a mental lack of judgement that prevents them from paying child support.
Report Post »rickbob
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:12amWhat a stupid study. Ever hear of the Duggars!!
Report Post »ying
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 8:51amEver hear of men who want to be women so badly that they make up studies such as these?
Report Post »Airb0rne4325
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:58amMaybe the study should be why wedding cake lowers the testosterone level in women.
Report Post »stogieguy7
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 12:16pmGood one! Though I think its actually the estrogen level that drops. This is why the stop caring about sex, being sweet and put on 30 pounds for you.
Report Post »RichEG
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:36amWhen the cold reality of looking forward to 18+ years of praying that you won’t loose your job, new clothing every six months, saving for a college, sports, music/dance lessons, adolescence, puberty, new cell phones, new computers and rap music …. who wouldn’t be depleted of testosterone.
Report Post »Cranky
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:25amAnd, I haven’t seen any mention of the tendency for most women to toss the diet and gym once they get some guy to say “I do”.
Report Post »So, it’s not just about “Ever wonder what your dad was like before you were born?”
Men get more excited by hot babes than fat moms. Am I totally off base here??
smithclar3nc3
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:35amThe study fails to mention that men testosterone level jump sky high when their son is old enough to pick up a football,baseball,fishing rod,hockey stick or start learning about gun safety and hunting.
Report Post »THROUGH THE FREAKING ROOF HIGH
HumbleCitizen
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 1:52pmYeah, and men lose their hair, then grow it on their backs and ears; get a beer belly, stop brushing their teeth, wear the same clothes for a week straight, fart, belch, snore like a freight train, pick their noses and ear wax then demand to be “serviced” like they’re a porno star.
Grousing about the opposite gender “after marriage” can cut both ways.
Report Post »Scrubpuppy
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:53amSo how does this account for the 50 percent of single parent households? I wonder if they took that into account.
Report Post »GERATMO
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:07amI think the story is more related to being a father than a husband but you make a good point. Allot of people get devorced but it doesnt make them a bad father.
Report Post »nxf124
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:36amThe story was based in the Philippines not USA…
Report Post »GERATMO
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:43amI am a prime example of this statistic, but I didnt have my first kid till I was 32. I was a wild man but when I had my first kid,(a boy), my whole life went from the fast lane to the slow lane. I think we find our identity and the purpose of life when we have kids. At least I did. Thats why im on this site and involved in whats going on in this country, doing my small part to protect the future of my children.
Report Post »aspkisser
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:18amDuh!!!
Report Post »HowardSternIsABigot
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:06amTYhis just proves men should work, women should be home with kids. Men should get back to testerone filled healthy work environment. Get the estrogen out of the workplace! Once more a problem is identified with modern society and these liberal elite idiots got hold of the wrong end of the stick.
Report Post »jaxy
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:20amYou are full of it. Testosterone filled lives are not what men are supposed to have, just don’t worry about your testosterone, your body will deal with. And I’m women in the work place is a good thing.
Report Post »HappyStretchedThin
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 6:46amSometimes even scientists can get so wrapped up in their own questions they become like idiots, blind to the context of their question. Testosterone doesn’t define the man, his choices do. Testosterone doesn’t MAKE you anything, but rather an indicator of how deeply even physiology reacts to choices.
Report Post »HowardSternIsABigot
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 7:07amJaxy sounds like you may be an estrogenosis sufferer.
Report Post »Faith1029
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 4:30pmAnother way to make men more effeminate. Women are to raise the children. Men are to be the providers. I know this is not possible in every situation, sometimes both really do need to work but because of materialism and everyone has to have everything to keep up with the Joneses, and the kids have to have everything, both husband and wife go to work and leave the kids to be raised by someone else or have latch key kids. It’s all in your priorities. It’s a shame.
Report Post »king jack rabbit
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 5:31amit does t have to, he needs to take time out with his wife and get a way once a week and work it back up
Report Post »king jack rabbit
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 5:32amjust like a rabbit
Report Post »Ron_WA
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 3:17amMakes biological sense. The need to procreate is hard-wired into our genetic code. Afterwards we are freed/relieved from that innate desire & can focus on other issues.
Report Post »blue_sky
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 4:56am@tower7femacamp, calm down.
If women were not 65% of all voters due to life expectancy, then no feminism would be able to create affirmative action and draconian divorce laws that unreasonably favor women.
That bitchiness and dominance on the part of the “weak” sex, make males’ sperm count go down. You can see it by gradual exposure of woman’s body in public over decades with a single purpose to attract less and less interested men into their cage.
Report Post »blue_sky
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 4:58amoops, looks like theBlaze filtered and removed a post and my reply ended in the wrong place.
Report Post »Robert999
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 3:10amThey’ve got the timing wrong. The man’s testosterone drops once he says “I do.”
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 4:58amConducted between 2004 and 2008, the study looked at 230 employees of 4 factories in China producing BPA and epoxy resins. Workers were involved in most aspects of the manufacturing process, from laboratory to packaging to maintenance. A group of 404 control subjects consisted of factory workers matched for age, education, sex, and employment history who had no known exposure to BPA in the workplace, and their male spouses.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712321
Researchers collected information on BPA exposure in a variety of ways. They reviewed the factory’s records, talked with factory leaders, and conducted a walk-through evaluation and in-person interviews to determine things like hygiene habits and the use of protective equipment. In addition, they carried out air sample monitoring and spot urine tests.
Measuring Sexual Function
To determine sexual health, they used the International Index of Erectile Function and the Brief Male Sexual Function Inventory. In addition to measuring sexual desire, erectile function, orgasmic function, and overall satisfaction with sex, they also looked at changes in sexual function since the subjects began working in a study factory.
Investigators also collected information on factors that can affect sexual function, including cigarette smoking, alcohol use, the presence of chronic disease, and exposure to other chemicals and heavy metals.
After adjustment for age, education, marital status, current smoking status, histo
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 3:04amAnd the point is??? Who cares!! TMI!
Report Post »alabamaslammer
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 2:57amWhat ever. Truth after dealing with hormone crazy woman for 9the months, watching the birthing process, getting no sleep for months in a row; and ut takes a study to figure out we don’t feel as manly anymore?
Report Post »thepatriotdave
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 2:51amThe Duggar family doesn’t EVER have this problem. I’m still waiting for them to announce that number 20 is on the way. Jim-Bob is my hero!
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