Adrian Gatton, a freelance journalist living in London, is wearing a special belly, ankle weights and pegs on his nipples to make the experience as authentic as possible for himself.

He is making an effort to bring his internal system into line with that of a pregnant woman, by eating baked beans to increase flatulence and drinking salt water each morning to be sick.

The government once used the idea of empathy to scare men into responsible behaviour

His progress will be monitored on the Babyworld Website.

The site also offers support and advice to men about pregnancy and childbirth - it also encourages them to share in the experience as much as possible.

A spokeswoman for the site said: "Adrian had logged on to the site but wanted to do more.

"He has been wearing the empathy belly and the ankle weights as much as possible and even in bed.

"The pegs on his nipples have shown him what breast tenderness feels like."