The Daily Telegraph - 06.08.2019

6 ***^ Tuesday 6 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph

Stressed fathers-to-be

are more likely to have

misbehaved children

By Henry Bodkin
Science correSpondent

FATHERS who are stressed during
their partner’s pregnancy are more
likely to have children with emotional
and behavioural problems, a study has
found.
Infants tended to show increased
spitefulness and restlessness, as well as
having more temper tantrums than
those whose fathers’ well-being was
healthy before their birth.
Previous research has shown links
between mothers with prenatal mental
health problems and behavioural prob-
lems in their children.
However, the study, led by the Uni-
versity of Cambridge, is the first to in-
volve both mothers and fathers and to

track the child’s development over two

years. Its authors say the results reveal

the “unique impact” of mental health

problems during pregnancy.

They have shared their findings with

the NCT (National Childbirth Trust),

the UK’s largest parenting charity.

Prof Claire Hughes, who led the re-

search, said: “For too long, the experi-

ences of first-time dads has either been

sidelined or treated in isolation from

that of mums. This needs to change be-

cause difficulties in children’s early re-

lationships with both mothers and

fathers can have long-term effects.

“Our findings highlight the need for

earlier and more effective support for

couples to prepare them better for the

transition to parenthood.”

The researchers also found that two-

year-olds were more likely to exhibit

emotional problems – including being

worried, unhappy and tearful, as well

as scaring easily or being clingy in new

situations – if their parents had early

postnatal relationship problems.

These ranged from a general lack of

happiness in the relationship to rows

and other kinds of conflict.

Although genetic factors may partly

explain the link between prenatal pa-

ternal well-being and children’s emo-

tional and behavioural development,

they cannot fully account for the corre-

lation. The authors said it could be ex-

plained by intrauterine transmission of

maternal physiological stress in moth-

ers living with partners who are un-

happy or anxious, even if they are not

unhappy or anxious themselves.

Published in the Development & Psy-

chopatholog y journal, the study in-

volved 438 first-time expectant

mothers and fathers, followed up at

four, 14 and 24 months after birth.

The research is part of an ongoing

project examining the well-being and

influence of new mothers and fathers.

In a linked study, published in Ar-

chives of Women’s Mental Health, the

team found that fathers share in trau-

matic memories of birth with their

partners far more than has previously

been recognised.

Mental state of male parent

during pregnancy shown

to have effect on infant’s

emotional stability

Street smart BBoy Leerok, a breakdancer from 360 Allstars, shows off a move at Camera

Obscura & World of Illusions before their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show. The circus

includes a BMX flatlander, two breakdancers, a basketball freestyler and a cyr wheel artist.

PA

The planet is in

hotter water,

scientists find

By Daily Telegraph

Reporter

UNUSUALLY high ocean

temperatures are occurring

more frequently than re-

searchers thought, a study

suggests.

The warming events, in-

cluding marine heatwaves,

are disrupting marine eco-

systems and the people who

rely on them, scientists say.

They examined 65 large

marine ecosystems from

1854 to 2018 to identify the

frequency of surprising

ocean temperatures. Warm-

ing events were defined as

an annual mean tempera-

ture two standard deviations

above the mean of the previ-

ous three decades.

The “surprises” were

noted all over the world, in-

cluding the Arctic, North At-

lantic, eastern Pacific, and

off Australia.

Researchers also found

that the warming events

occurred at nearly double

the rate they expected.

Dr Andrew Pershing,

chief scientific officer at the

Gulf of Maine Research In-

stitute, said: “Across the 65

ecosystems we examined,

we expected about six or

seven of them would experi-

ence these ‘surprises’ each

year.

“Instead, we’ve seen an

average of 12 ecosystems ex-

periencing these warming

events each year over the

past seven years, including a

high of 23 ‘surprises’ in

2016.”

Scientists also looked at

the effect of the warming on

sea life and human commu-

nities.

In natural communities

like coral reefs, fish and

plankton, new species that

prefer warmer conditions

can often replace cold-lov-

ing species which suffer

when an ecosystem warms.

While the changeover of

species should be able to

keep pace in gradually

warming conditions, ecosys-

tems that are experiencing

change much faster are ex-

pected to suffer reductions

in both biomass and diver-

sity.

An increase in ocean “sur-

prises” also affects humans,

the study, published in Pro-

ceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, ob-

served.

According to the study, as

the planet continues to

warm, ecosystems and hu-

man communities will adapt

to the changing conditions.

However, scientists say it

is unclear whether such

adjustments will keep pace

as the climate trends accel-

erate.

Fat suits highlight

bias among medics

ASKING patients to wear fat

suits during undergraduate

medical training can reveal

students’ prejudices against

overweight and obese peo-

ple, researchers say.

Scientists at the Univer-

sity of Tübingen, south Ger-

many, asked trainee doctors

to take an anti-fat attitudes

test (AFAT) after taking part

in role play with “patients”

wearing fat suits.

A total of 207 medical stu-

dents took part in the study,

in which volunteers helped

to simulate a meeting be-

tween a “family doctor” and

a “patient with diabetes”.

The AFAT responses,

published in the British

Medical Journal, showed

that students harboured

more negative attitudes to-

wards obesity than either

teachers or the patients.

Students were more

likely to agree more strongly

with the statements “fat

people could lose weight if

they really wanted to”,

“most fat people are lazy”,

and “there is no excuse for

being fat”.

Responses were recorded

by asking participants to

rate, on a scale of one to five,

how much they agreed with

statements including “fat

people have no willpower”

and “fat people are lazy”.

The research team said:

“We strongly believe that

integrating an obesity simu-

lation suit into the routine

undergraduate medical

teaching context is a valua-

ble tool.

“It can raise medical stu-

dents’ awareness for com-

munication encounters

with patients with obesity.”

Bridal shower of dust

after castle crumbles

MASONRY from a castle

began to crumble on a bride

and groom as they posed

for their wedding photo-

graphs, leading Historic

England to launch an inves-

tigation.

Emma Wiseman had to

shield her bridal gown from

a dust cloud when the gate-

house at Cooling Castle,

built in 1380, started to fall

apart.

She was having photo-

graphs taken in front of the

castle, near Rochester, Kent.

She and her partner of four

years, David, were married

at Cooling Castle Barn,

which is also in the grounds.

Ms Wiseman said: “We

heard a crash, there was a

huge dust cloud, and it hit

me and the best man.

“We were trying to pro-

tect the dress. It settled, and

I had a bit in my eye.”

A spokesman for Historic

England said: “A close-up in-

spection of the gatehouse is

planned for next week,

which a Historic England

architect will attend and

advise on.”

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