Fatherhood Linked to Lower Testosterone
Studies show that testosterone levels decline when men start families.
We’ve all heard the joke about how getting married and having kids ruins your sex life. It’s certainly true that having a baby brings additional responsibilities, interrupts sleep patterns, and reduces parents’ private time together. But it turns out that there may also be a biological reason that couples with kids have less sex, namely reduced testosterone levels in new fathers.
A recent study conducted by Lee Gettler of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana offers proof of a link between fatherhood and lower testosterone. Gettler compiled medical and lifestyle information on over 400 young men in the Philippines. The data showed that testosterone levels began to fall as soon as the men married, and declined even further when they had their first child. Interestingly, the data was similar among all of the young men with new babies, regardless of how much time they spent actually caring for their baby.
Gettler speculated that the reduction in testosterone was nature’s way of encouraging men to focus on their families immediately after a new birth rather than seeking other mates and potentially getting into conflicts. In the early days of our species, this biological imperative to care for the family could have helped the offspring of men with lowered post-baby testosterone survive.
The men in the study were all between 21 and 26 years old, and none of them experienced such an extreme drop in testosterone as would constitute a medical case of Low Testosterone. In fact, in most of the men, testosterone recovered to pre-baby levels after about a year.
While men in their 20s typically have healthy testosterone levels, these levels can begin to decline as they approach their 30s and beyond, resulting in symptoms from moodiness to weight gain to depression or low sex drive. Men who are already in their 40s or 50s are highly likely to have experienced at least one of the symptoms of low T to some degree. If the results of the study hold true in older males, these men might suffer a further reduction in testosterone if they become fathers for the first time in middle age.
Fortunately, no man has to live with low T as long as Renew Man™ is around. Our network of expert doctors can work with you to identify your level of testosterone deficiency and create an appropriate treatment plan that will restore your testosterone to healthy levels while also balancing all other relevant hormones. Contact us today to get the process started.
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