Postpartum depression is a condition that primarily affects women in the first weeks after giving birth. But a new study published in the journal Pediatrics found that fathers might suffer from postpartum depression too.
Postpartum depression is most often attributed to by the swift decline in estrogen and progesterone following the delivery combined with lack of sleep and increased stress of a newborn. Because men do not have a rapid hormonal change, or any for that matter, they are often seen as immune to postpartum depression.
But men can suffer from sleep deprivation and increased stress after the delivery, and just these two factors alone may be significant enough to cause some degree of depression. The primary factor may be sleep deprivation, because many men go back to work with in the first few weeks, but are also still awoke in the night by the new infant.
In the study more than 5,000 couples were surveyed about depressive symptoms following the birth. Most of the couples had been new parents for some time, with infants about 9 months of age.
In this study 14 percent of women and 10 percent of men surveyed suffered from some degree of postpartum depression. Men in the study who reported depressive symptoms were less likely to play or interact with the new infant and mother’s ability to interact with the newborn was also affected by father’s depression.
The study brought to light an important aspect of new parenthood that may not be addressed enough: dads can have postpartum depression too and should be screened along with women. Women are usually screened by their healthcare provider for postpartum depression in the first weeks after delivery, whereas men usually do not have healthcare follow-up and significant symptoms may be missed.
The lead author recommends that any new parent that either recognized themselves or their spouse acting differently, not handling stress well, or over tired for more than two weeks should seek help with a healthcare provider.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on August 15, 2006 09:56 AM
