Paternal genes are dominant in the placenta
When it comes to pregnancy much importance is laid on the mother as she uses her body to grow the fetus. It is always felt that the job of a dad gets over with sperms.
However genetics has a different story to tell. Pregnancy is a genetic amalgamation of both the parents.
“The father's health is equally important as the mother's health”
This has been elucidated by Rubio Fuerte, a Nutritional scientist in the University of Vienna through a post on Instagram.
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I talk to women stressing about healthy nutrition and getting in shape before a pregnancy daily. These women educate themselves to ensure the best pregnancy and do the best for their children, he writes.
"Unfortunately, from my clinical experience, the father's role often comes short in that context. The father's health is equally important as the mother's health and should be treated that way. Let me know your thoughts below!," he adds.
"The father's nutrition, smoking, etc. contribute to female infertility and miscarriages," he says.
Dad's preconception health can affect the baby
Papers published in The Lancet have shown that the health of the parents, even before they conceive the child can have an impact on the health and even weight of the child. Preconception health is the health of the parents before they conceive the child.
The researchers wrote that the preconception period of the parents is a key window during which poor maternal and paternal physiology, body composition, metabolism, and diet can induce increased risk of chronic disease in offspring – a lifetime legacy and major driver of health burden in the 21st century. The evidence that similar consequences can result from assisted reproductive treatment practices sharpens the focus on this window.”
Fathers who have a history of chronic illnesses...
A study published in 2020 in the Fertility and Sterility journal on whether paternal health is associated with maternal peripartum and neonatal outcomes found that increased preconception paternal comorbidity may be associated with negative infant and maternal outcomes.
"Although the paternal effect remains modest," the study said, the findings highlight the importance of the health of both parents on healthy pregnancy.
