This Dad-to-be is really really really sick with male morning sickness. Poor Harry.

By SHAUNA ANDERSON

It’s hard to describe the overwhelming feeling of morning sickness to your partner.

The constant nausea, the extreme exhaustion, the backaches.

But for Charlotte Allsopp – a 19-year old pregnant woman in the UK she doesn’t have to describe it – as her fiancé is going through it right there with her.

Yep, Harry Ashby – a 29-year old security guard from Birmingham and would-be talent show star claims he is the first man to get a sick note from his doctor to be excused from work for morning sickness.

(What you get time off from work for morning sickness?)

Poor Harry first noticed something was up when his breasts became tender and he started feeling tired all the time. So he took a pregnancy test and hey presto those two blue lines appeeared (well I think his fiancé did that bit).

The Sun reports that Harry has had back pain and food cravings. He said he had developed a particular fondness for salt and vinegar chips that he usually hates and had been guzzling the orange lucozade.

(We recommend dry toast too Harry and see if Charlotte will give you a foot massage.)

His fiancé Charlotte told The Sun “He started throwing up in the mornings and we’d lie on the sofa and moan at the same time about our aches and pains.”

According to The Daily Mail “Mr Ashby, a part-time model who prides himself on his physique, began to panic when he discovered he’d put on a stone and a half.”

When his breasts and stomach began to protrude he hit Dr Google to find out what was going on.

He came across a condition called Couvade syndrome, or sympathetic pregnancy and his GP confirmed the diagnosis.

Harry – who fancies himself of a bit of a reality TV star in the making having auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent and the X Factor has discovered his softer side now – saying he has a new understanding of what the Duchess of Cambridge, who is suffering from a severe form of morning sickness known as hyperemesis gravidarum, is going through.

Now you might be joining me in scoffing a little (or a lot), but we may have to snigger in silence as it seems there is a legitimate condition that gives men pregnancy symptoms.

The Telegraph reports that St George’s University, London, monitored 282 dads-to-be throughout their wives’ pregnancy and many of these men actually reported a range of symptoms including back pain, mood swings, cravings, insomnia, toothache and cramp. (toothache?)

Eleven of the men who participated were forced to visit their GP because of the severity of the symptoms.

And some even developed a “baby bump”. (Stop sniggering!)

“These men were so attuned to their partners, they started to develop the same symptoms,” said Dr Arthur Brennan, the academic who led the study.

“Some people may perceive this as men trying to get in on the act, but far from being attention-seeking, these symptoms are involuntary.

“Often the men haven’t got a clue about what’s happening to them.” the doctor said.

Harry’s fiancé voiced to The Sun what many of us might be thinking right now.

“I do get a bit tired of having to look after Harry when he should be looking after me,” Charlotte said.

According to The Sun the Dad-to-be’s next challenge is headed his way on January 2 – the day his baby is due.

You see many men going through Couvade syndrome experience labour pains alongside their partner (you know those going through the ACTUAL birth Harry).

He says he is worried how he will cope. “I’m a bit nervous, as some men who have Couvade syndrome also had bad labour pains when their partners give birth.”

We wish Harry and Charlotte (especially Charlotte) all the best with their impending newborn.

You may now stop sniggering.