The New York Times: A British research firm is reporting that the average weight gained during pregnancy is 14 pounds -- and that's by the babies' fathers.

Five thousand male respondents to an online survey by the marketing company Onepoll, said they were eating more as their partners' pregnancies progressed. Their reasons: eating out more frequently before the baby comes (42 percent), the increased availability of snacks around the house (41 percent), the desire to make their partner feel better about her own weight gain (25 percent) and being served larger portions -- apparently by a hungry mom-to-be (20 percent).

On average, respondents said, they added about two inches to their waistlines and at least 25 percent had to go out and buy bigger pants.

Only 30 percent, however, joined their partner in a diet after the baby arrived.

On the subject of Dads who swell with more than pride during pregnancy, go here to read about a report several years ago about what some doctors have dubbed "Couvade syndrome" -- in which men come down with many of the symptoms their pregnant partners are experiencing, including not only weight gain, but also morning sickness, food cravings, baby bumps, fatigue, back pain and, eventually, contractions. Some researchers attribute all this to anxiety about becoming a father, while others theorize that these men are particularly empathetic and in tune with their partners needs.

None of the phantom pregnancies resulted in an actual birth.

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