The weight of fatherhood: identifying mechanisms to explain paternal perinatal weight gain

Saxbe, Darby; Corner, Geoffrey W.; Khaled, Mona; Horton, Katelyn; Wu, Brian; Khoddam, Hannah

doi:10.1080/17437199.2018.1463166

Cited by 32 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…In a comprehensive review of parenthood and fathers' and mothers' health, Saxbe, Rossin‐Slater, and Goldenberg () reported that the transition to parenthood is an inflection point for body weight trajectories. Mechanisms that seem to influence fathers' weight gain during the transition to fatherhood include changes in sleep, physical activity, testosterone, and stress (Saxbe et al, ). A cross‐national study of fathers in six Asian countries found that fathers who were more involved with their children from infancy through adolescence were more likely to report positive general health and life satisfaction and less likely to report depression (Chan, Emery, Fulu, Tolman, & Ip, ).…”

Section: Significant Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century: Persistent Challenges, New Directions

Schoppe‐Sullivan

Fagan

2020

J of Marriage and Family

208

157

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Since the last decade review of the fathering literature in 2000, scholars across numerous disciplines such as demography, family studies, medicine, nursing, law, psychology, social work, and sociology have continued to produce a steady stream of work on fathering and father–child relationships. This literature is reviewed selectively with a focus on key developments, persistent challenges, and critical directions for future research. Significant developments include greater availability of large and nationally representative datasets to study fathers; expansion and evaluation of U.S. federal policy regarding fathers; thoughtful consideration of conceptualization and measurement of fathers' parenting; growth in research on coparenting, maternal gatekeeping, and fathering; increased attention to issues of diversity in fathering; and awareness of the effects of fathering on men's development. Persistent challenges and critical new directions in fathering research include full and routine inclusion of fathers in research on parenting, improved assessment and appropriate data analysis, adherence to evidence‐based portrayals of fathers' roles in children's development, generation and use of scientific evidence to guide policy‐making, and sustained attention to diversity and fatherhood. These should be priority areas of focus as fathering research proceeds into the next decades of the 21st century.

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Section: Significant Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century: Persistent Challenges, New Directions

Schoppe‐Sullivan

Fagan

2020

J of Marriage and Family

208

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Paternal perinatal depression influences the father–child relationship and is related to less optimal relationships between couples as well as to maternal depression (Paulson et al, ), doubling the risk for unfavorable child outcomes. As in mothers, in fathers, hormonal imbalances may be related to postpartum depression (Saxbe et al, ), but lack of sufficient sleep may also play a role: 35% of parents with children under age 2 report that they get only 5–6 hr of sleep per night (Krueger & Friedman, ). Identifying risk factors for paternal perinatal depression is an important step toward prevention, ideally before the baby is born.…”

Section: A Biobehavioral Model Of Emergent Fatherhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birth of a Father: Fathering in the First 1,000 Days

Bakermans‐Kranenburg

Lotz

Dijk

et al. 2019

Child Dev Perspectives

107

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As a result of societal changes, fathers participate more actively in child care than they used to. In this article, we propose a context‐dependent biobehavioral model of emergent fatherhood in which sociocultural, behavioral, hormonal, and neural factors develop and interact during the first 1,000 days of fatherhood. Sociocultural factors, including different expectations of fathers and varying opportunities for paternal caregiving through paid paternal leave, influence paternal involvement. Levels of hormones (e.g., testosterone, vasopressin, oxytocin, cortisol) predict fathers’ parenting behaviors, and involvement in caregiving in turn affects their hormones and brain responses to infant stimuli. The birth of the first child marks the transition to fatherhood and may be a critical period in men’s lives, with a smoother transition to fatherhood predicting more optimal involvement by fathers in subsequent years. A focus on prenatal and early postnatal fathering may pave the way for developing interventions that effectively support fathering during pregnancy and in the first years of their children’s lives.

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“…In addition, for both men and women, the onset of parenthood, while often joyful, is frequently accompanied by heightened stress and potentially harmful changes in behaviour including decreases in physical activity [ 22 – 25 ]. Such changes in behaviour over the transition to parenthood may have a long-lasting impact in shaping health trajectories into midlife [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cohabiting and becoming a parent: associations with changes in physical activity in the 1970 British cohort study

et al. 2020

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Background: We examined the association between family-related life events (cohabitation/marriage and becoming a parent) and change in physical activity. Methods: Longitudinal data (n = 8045) from the 1970 British Cohort Study (30 and 34 years) were included. Life events (beginning cohabitation/marriage and becoming a parent) were reported and coded: 0 no, 1 yes, for each event occurring between 30 and 34 years. Participants reported frequency of participation in leisure-time physical activity at 30 and 34 years (Likert scale: mean change calculated ranging between − 4 and 4). Linear regression models were used to examine the association between life events and physical activity change (comparing individuals experiencing events between 30 and 34 years versus never experiencing the event-excluding participants that experienced previous eventswith a final analysis sample of n = 3833 in parenthood analysis; n = 1137 in cohabitation analysis). Interaction terms were used to analyse combined parenthood and cohabitation status. Analyses were adjusted for level of education achieved, ethnicity, country of origin and other life events. ANCOVA was used to examine associations between change in physical activity and child age. Results: Compared to remaining without children, becoming a parent was associated with a greater reduction in physical activity among men [β:-0.234(95%CI:-0.396 to − 0.072)] but not women [0.126(− 0.048;0.301)]. No associations were found between cohabitation and physical activity. Men who became fathers both while cohabitating [− 0.201(− 0.383;-0.020)] and without cohabiting [− 0.937(− 1.623;-0.250)] experienced greater physical activity declines than those remaining single and without children; the decline was greatest among non-cohabiting fathers. These associations did not differ by child age. Conclusions: Parenthood appears to differentially impact physical activity for men and women; this association also differs by cohabitation status. Parenthood appears to be most detrimental to physical activity levels among men. Interventions for physical activity could target new or soon-to-be parents, especially fathers. Further analyses with device-measured physical activity data would be valuable to advance understanding of these associations.

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The weight of fatherhood: identifying mechanisms to explain paternal perinatal weight gain

Cited by 32 publications

References 110 publications

The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century: Persistent Challenges, New Directions

The Evolution of Fathering Research in the 21st Century: Persistent Challenges, New Directions

Birth of a Father: Fathering in the First 1,000 Days

Cohabiting and becoming a parent: associations with changes in physical activity in the 1970 British cohort study

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