Psychosomatic symptoms of the Couvade syndrome in Finnish and Polish expectant fathers.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence of symptoms associated with the Couvade syndrome in two groups of men of Polish and Finnish nationality, and to perform a comparative analysis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study was conducted in two groups of men (expectant fathers): 51 Poles and 40 Finns using a self-constructed questionnaire prepared in Polish and English languages. The statistical analysis was performed in Micro-soft Office Excel 2010 and Statistica 12. The Pearson's test was calculated, and the statistical significance level was p < 0.05.

RESULTS

The most common physical symptoms reported by the Polish men were weight gain (78%) and gastric disorders (80%), whereas the Finns most frequently declared weight gain (60%). As for emotional symptoms, mood swings (p = 0.0001) and sleep disorders (p = 0.00004) were significantly more common in the Poles, whilst the Finns experienced frustration (p = 0.0403) and nervousness (p = 0.01579) significantly more frequently. The Finnish respondents more often used profes-sional forms of preparation for childbirth and parenthood (p = 0.00229).

CONCLUSIONS

Psychosomatic symptoms of the Couvade syndrome are significantly more common in Polish than in Finnish expectant fathers. Compared with Polish fathers, Finns significantly more frequently attend ante-natal classes. Ante-natal care should encompass education of men as they do experience the symptoms of the Couvade syndrome during their wives'/partners' pregnancies.