Postpartum Depression Hits Dads, Too

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay ReporterMon Aug 7, 7:02 PM ET

MONDAY, Aug. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Almost as many new fathers as mothers suffer depression after the birth of a child, a new study shows.

About 14 percent of mothers and 10 percent of fathers showed signs of moderate or severe postpartum depression, according to the study, which followed more than 5,000 members of two-parent families.

"There have been a few small studies in the last two years showing this, but nothing has been known on a national basis," said study leader James F. Paulson, an assistant professor of pediatrics and psychology and behavioral sciences at the Eastern Virginia Medical School Center for Pediatric Research.

The findings are published in the August issue of Pediatrics.

New parents who participated in the study filled out questionnaires and were interviewed to determine whether they showed symptoms of depression. Their relationships with their children were determined by questioning such practices as breast-feeding, putting the child to bed on his or her back, and whether the parents read to, played peek-a-boo with or sang to the child.

"What we found in this study is that basic day-to-day interactions were impaired in fathers, just as they were in mothers," Paulson said. "Also, basic activities were impaired."

Pediatricians should make a greater effort to identify postpartum depression in both mothers and fathers, Paulson said. "Pediatricians, in general, may be in the best position to catch depression, but they don't often do it," he said, adding he's now doing a study to look at patterns of screening for postpartum depression.

Dr. William Coleman is a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina and chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on the psychosocial aspects of child and family health. "Physicians do a very poor job asking about or detecting postpartum blues in the mother, and they may not even see the father," he said. "They might detect the mother's feelings, but may not even ask the father."

Fathers usually feel elation after a birth, Coleman said, but that feeling of "engrossment" can fade away, depending on family circumstances.

That can happen "if the mother is very, very controlling and wants the baby all to herself," Coleman said. "Also, fathers can experience frustration, sexual and emotional, if they forget to remember that the wife is not interested in sex at that time. If the wife is very motherly and maternal, he might feel kind of useless, on the periphery."

Depression in a father leads to a well-known pattern of behavior, Coleman said. "He tends to work longer, to watch sports more, to drink more and be solitary," he said.

One problem in detecting postpartum depression in fathers is that "pediatricians are not told to inquire about adult issues," Coleman said. "It is a silent game."

Yet, it's important to detect postpartum depression in a father for the sake of the child's long-term outlook, Paulson said. "Based on what we know of mothers' postpartum depression, it is associated with health problems later on, not only emotional problems and difficulties adjusting to school but also basic health problems," he said.

I never even thought about it however it would be more believable if the male actually withstood the physical and hormonal changes himself- I admit I'm skeptical. It sounds like an excuse for Bad behavior on the Males part

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I totally agree. I've written on other forums and surveys about how I feel the pediatricians should be trained and charged with noting ppd in parents. I don't know about you, but I saw my kid's dr. a lot more than my Dr. in the first couple of years. DH does have ppd and had it after the first one, too, but absolutely refuses to do anything about it, and I won't take meds due to nursing. It's too bad, too, because depression and the feeling of being overwhelmed takes so much of the joy away from having a new child and watching the magic of life change, especially in the first year, their most important year when they change so much. Diva will be one tomorrow and I just wonder where the year went. I felt I was too tied up with just making it through, rather than truly enjoying her. This issue needs more airing and more answers than just meds. I know many of the answers (get out, get a support system, take time for yourself, let others help, exercise, etc.), but also know how hard it is to make any of them real.

That sort of sex and sleep deprivation can get anyone down. I imagine that the adrenaline and other hormones that bounce around in the excitement can also plumet after the big hoorah is over. I also think that during traumatic birth experiences that both parties should get counseling(at least one session before they leave the hospital), instead of just everything is ok now so buh-bye. It leaves a person in the midst of consuming emotional shock that can be hard to sort out by themselves.

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