Kashish Sharma
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Researchers have shown that men much like women might also go through some physiological changes in their cortex despite not being directly involved in the pregnancy
When it comes to childbirth, it is common to talk about how a mother's body might change before and after pregnancy. Since mothers carry babies in their wombs, it is natural for us to imagine the physical and psychological changes they might go through in the process. Their biological involvement in childbirth makes the discussion relevant. However, as per many experts, the physical and psychological changes that a father might go through during and after pregnancy are overlooked in the conversation.
Some studies are now identifying a 'dad brain' that might develop after childbirth. Researchers have shown that men much like women might also go through some physiological changes in their cortex despite not being directly involved in the pregnancy. These changes allow them to experience more empathy and see things visually better than before.
A study has found that the transition to parenthood can be a window to adult neuroplasticity for both parents. Neuroplasticity stands for the brain's ability to change to adapt itself to new experiences. It could be both structural and functional. Studying fathers had given researchers an opportunity to understand how pregnancy could change the brain when it might not be experienced directly.
The study First-time fathers show longitudinal Gray matter cortical volume reductions was an international collaboration between two laboratories, one in Spain and the other one in California. The researchers collected structural neuroimaging samples of 40 expectant fathers before and after the birth of their first child. The control group included 17 childless men. The samples were tested whether the transition to fatherhood had caused some structural changes to the brain's cortical volume, area, thickness and subcortical areas.
The findings of the study had shown slight brain shrinkage and these changes were mostly in regions that regulate empathy and visual processing. As per some quoted experts, these physiological changes could happen to make fathers more adaptable to the non-verbal communication of a child as this might require better sensory information processing. Other studies have also shown that men also do show hormonal changes after childbirth like a dip in the levels of cortisol and testosterone which might make them less aggressive and more empathetic. Childless men had not shown such changes.
Studies have shown that, unlike women, these physiological changes might occur in men in the postpartum phase when they might interact with the child. Studies have also shown that despite not having to experience the hormonal alterations in a person during pregnancy, fathers also might show the same neural networking that mothers might develop to process infant-related stimuli.
As per experts, pregnancy and childbirth are two subjects that have been partially studied from a female perspective. Studies show that much of the physiological, molecular and genetic research has been conducted on mothers before, during the pregnancy and during postpartum. While many common changes have been observed between mother and father in these studies but there might be a possibility of some alterations that might be specific to first-time fathers.