- Men that put the hours in being a good dad have less sex
- Study tracked lives of young men in the Philippine Islands
- Found after having a baby a man’s testosterone levels drop
By
Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent
21:08 EST, 14 February 2014
|
06:29 EST, 15 February 2014
It is not just women who tend to lose interest in sex after having a baby. Men do too.
New fathers make love less often, and it seems that the better they are at being a dad, the less sex they end up having.
Lee Gettler, of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, tracked the lives and hormones of 433 young men from the Philippine islands.
New fathers make love less often, and it seems that the better they are at being a dad, the less sex they end up having
He found that the most testosterone-fuelled men were also the most likely to become fathers.
However after having a baby their levels of the male sex hormone dropped – along with the amount of sex they had.
Dr Gettler also found an increase in the hormone prolactin, which is normally associated with breastfeeding, particularly among men with the most hands-on approach to parenting.
It is thought the hormonal changes make a man more responsive to the needs of his child.
Dr Gettler told the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference: ‘Mothers undergo substantial biological change with pregnancy and birth, yet there has been a tendency to think of the father as kind of inertly along for the ride.
The study of a group of men in the Philippine Islands revealed a man’s testosterone levels drop once he has had a child
But it is not just mothers who respond to the demands of parenthood.
‘I think evolution has shaped male physiology to help men invest in their children and provide good care for them.’
Dr Gettler added that the drop in libido could well be nature’s way of stopping the new father from straying.
But it is not for ever – as hormone levels return to normal within a year or two.
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Peaches21,
Atlanta, United States,
13 hours ago
That’s sad. Sex between two parents is huge.
Aztecsfan,
Peoria Arizona, United States,
19 hours ago
Total BS. What we lose interest in is the woman we had those kids with. I tell my brother that if he enjoys getting laid, NEVER get married and have kids. She will completely stop giving a crap about you and any minimal sex you had before the kids will evaporate. You want a good sex life, keep her a girlfriend FOREVER.
tm3912,
Nowhere, United States,
5 hours ago
BigSteve,
Classified, United States,
21 hours ago
Just amazing the things these “researchers†spend time and money studying.
David25,
USA…mostly,
22 hours ago
Entire thing is BULL$*!
numag,
new york, United States,
1 day ago
We needed a study to state the obvious? When you have children you begin to realize that life is not just about SEX. For goodness sakes people, grow up already.
arielcoverage,
Dallas, United States,
14 hours ago
Lemuria,
New York, United States,
1 day ago
This definitely does not apply to men living in highly industrialized cities. Men (good dads and bad dads) nowadays have much accessibility and freedom to obtain sex outside their relationship while preserving their marriage. Everything is easily accessible since the advent of the internet all in privacy.
Sandy Reis,
Boston, United States,
1 day ago
Geoff,
Chichester, United Kingdom,
2 days ago
Seems like a good way of population control. Is it due to something put in the drinking water?
ScotMk,
Mk, United Kingdom,
2 days ago
I am a stay at home dad, my days are devoted to my kids. I am the best super dad in the whole world then.
MetaVoid,
Utopia, United States,
2 days ago
It’s because many men are turned off by 9 months of pregnancy, the 12 hours of labor and birth that modern society expects us to observe (eww) and the 40 pounds she gained. In other words, the thrill of attraction is gone and has been replaced with repulsion. We still love you, but we need to have sex with someone else for a while, mmmkay.
2 of 3 replies
numag,
new york, United States,
1 day ago
ladyjbritish,
NC,
1 day ago
Trudi,
Worcester, United Kingdom,
2 days ago
Some women no doubt do want to convince themselves that a man with a healthy sex drive loses it conveniently. It’s why the divorce rate is so high.
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