THIS syndrome makes fathers feel pregnant, and it’s real

Picture this. You are biologically male. You wake up feeling nauseous, and you can’t explain why. Your arms go numb. Sometimes, the chest feels tender. Exhaustion follows you everywhere. But here’s the twist—you’re not the one who’s pregnant. Your partner is.

If you have experienced this, don’t worry, you are not alone. Nearly half of all expectant partners have experienced these symptoms. And know that it’s not just in your head; it’s very much real!

You may be experiencing Couvade syndrome

What you are now experiencing is called Couvade syndrome, or sympathetic pregnancy. Yes, just like it sounds, this syndrome is one of the strangest and least understood conditions.

Most fathers-to-be and non-pregnant partners experience this during the pregnancy period. The name Couvade syndrome (pronounced ‘koo-VADE’) comes from the French verb couver, which means to incubate or sit on eggs. For years, it was dismissed as strange, even imaginary. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that this condition is very real. The most common symptoms include changes in appetite, nausea, trouble sleeping, and weight gain.

“The best way to describe it is a sympathetic pregnancy. Essentially, it’s when a non-pregnant partner experiences pregnancy symptoms despite the fact that they’re not biologically pregnant,” Catherine Caponero, an obstetrician-gynaecologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, US, told the BBC.

Couvade syndrome affects dads-to-be and also same-sex partners. Interestingly, grandmothers who live with the pregnant person may also experience this. The symptoms vary from nausea to fatigue, backaches to dental pain, mood swings to food cravings, as well as weight gain.

How common is this syndrome?

A study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology suggests that around 11% to 65% of husbands of pregnant women have experienced this.

Another study suggests that up to 52% of US fathers experienced some signs of the syndrome during their wife’s pregnancy, with similar figures reported in Jordan at 59% and Thailand at 61%.

“We think couvade syndrome is a psychological response that produces real physical symptoms. Interestingly, it’s not the only example of how having a baby affects non-pregnant partners. Postpartum depression in non-birthing partners is also common,” obstetrician-gynaecologist Catherine Caponero, DO, told the Cleveland Clinic.

Despite how real it feels, neither the International Classification of Diseases nor the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders acknowledges Couvade syndrome. Some obstetricians admit they learned barely a sentence about it in medical school. The syndrome remains one of medicine’s unexplored secrets.

Scientists are still piecing together the puzzle of whether it is psychological or biological. While science fully figures out this syndrome, it is important to be supportive of partners who are experiencing it.