August 22, 2005 --

Ben Swann-KFOX Morning News Anchor/Reporter

Parenting sure has changed. Thirty years ago fathers were barred from the delivery room. Today, they're right there, coaching their wives during the birthing process. So it's no wonder that a lot of women are heading off to work, while dad is the one doing the feedings, diaper changing, and grocery shopping. In our Health Watch Report, we take a look at the impact of stay-at-home-dads.

15 months ago, salesman Bill Cook got a new job. He traded phone calls, meetings and power lunches, for feedings, naptime and playdates. Cook is a stay at home dad.

Bill Cook-Stay at Home Dad: "People look at me like I have two heads sometimes when I walk in and I have three babies. I've got the two babies and I got my daughter with me and they look at me like 'where's your wife'".

2 million men according to the latest census bureau findings do it, that's four times the number of dads opting to hold down the home fort 20 years ago.

The biggest job for moms seems to be nurturing, so are 6 year-old Lauren and 1 year old twins Connor and Sofi getting as much from dad as they would get from mom? Studies say yes, before baby is born, dads experience a surge in nurturing hormones like estrogen and prolactin, which is the hormone coursing through you when you're in love. The essentially male hormone testosterone dips by a third once baby is born, a dip that lasts a few months into baby's life

Dr. Kyle Pruitt has conducted the longest term studies on the children of stay at home dads, finding later in life they are better problem solvers, and not surprisingly, less prone to gender stereotyping. The key regardless of which parent stays home says Pruitt, is that kids know they're being cared for by two parents who love them.

Dr. Kyle Pruett-Yale Child Study Center: "When you look at the father style, the mother style, it's not that one's right and one's wrong, the child figures out a way to weave a stronger cloth, fabric together from these two lessons they are learning."

Cook's learning his lessons every day, but even more, he's truly involved with his kids.

Bill Cook-Stay at Home Dad: "It's very prideful you see your kid and all of a sudden they're crawling or they sat up and that's really cool.

If you would like more medical news, visit our health partners websites:

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center: http://www.mdanderson.org/

The Mayo Clinic:http://www.medicaledge.org

Baylor College of Medicine: http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/