This fact from your post should be shouted from the rooftops:
"Hormone and brain changes in new dads show us that men come with bodies that respond to infant cues and parenting practice. Tweaking testosterone in new dads may undermine their adaptation to a life stage that is supposed to be transformative. High T is great in situations that call for it, but not in perpetuity, and especially not when a new baby needs your attention."
Yes! I thought it might be you but I knew I had confused you with someone writing from the Nordics before and didn’t want to make the same mistake again!
The U-shaped relationship your lab found between testosterone and paternal depression in that first postpartum year is the detail I hadn't seen before.
It reframes the whole "low T is bad" narrative. Midrange being protective is a much harder story to sell than a supplement, which is probably why nobody is telling it.
Does the U-shape hold once you account for sleep deprivation in that first year, or does new-dad sleep loss muddy the testosterone signal?
I absolutely love the nuanced, flexible, evolutionary perspective on the role of testosterone for men. You make a compelling case for the role of T for men-as-dads, but it seems to me that often those disparaging remarks men make about each other aren't about them as dads but as men in other roles - as leaders, risk-takers, as physically imposing beings. Is there research linking testoerone changes in fathers and how that affects their other roles in society?
This fact from your post should be shouted from the rooftops:
"Hormone and brain changes in new dads show us that men come with bodies that respond to infant cues and parenting practice. Tweaking testosterone in new dads may undermine their adaptation to a life stage that is supposed to be transformative. High T is great in situations that call for it, but not in perpetuity, and especially not when a new baby needs your attention."
Haha the Swedish public announcement ad encouraging dads to take paternity leave was me!
Posted about it here: https://substack.com/@arianahendrix/note/c-222881255?r=diyl&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Yes! I thought it might be you but I knew I had confused you with someone writing from the Nordics before and didn’t want to make the same mistake again!
Just fixed the caption!
Awesome, thanks! Glad this truly fabulous image and message is getting the circulation it deserves!
The U-shaped relationship your lab found between testosterone and paternal depression in that first postpartum year is the detail I hadn't seen before.
It reframes the whole "low T is bad" narrative. Midrange being protective is a much harder story to sell than a supplement, which is probably why nobody is telling it.
Does the U-shape hold once you account for sleep deprivation in that first year, or does new-dad sleep loss muddy the testosterone signal?
I absolutely love the nuanced, flexible, evolutionary perspective on the role of testosterone for men. You make a compelling case for the role of T for men-as-dads, but it seems to me that often those disparaging remarks men make about each other aren't about them as dads but as men in other roles - as leaders, risk-takers, as physically imposing beings. Is there research linking testoerone changes in fathers and how that affects their other roles in society?