Postpartum Depression Also Common Among Dads

(May 18) -- New dads, it turns out, also are vulnerable to postpartum depression, with as many as 25 percent of men experiencing symptoms three months after the birth, a new report finds.

Experts are already aware of the major impact of maternal postpartum depression, which afflicts up to 30 percent of new mothers. But less is known about the prevalence of postpartum depression among men, as well as the risk factors and recovery rates.

That's slowly changing, as more studies start to document the risk of depression that fathers face during pregnancy and shortly after the birth of their children. And research has also concluded that kids are more likely to suffer anxiety and behavioral problems if their fathers experienced postpartum mental health symptoms.

Now a new analysis of the research, published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, draws conclusions about the frequency of paternal postpartum, how it relates to maternal mental health problems, and when during pregnancy and after childbirth a father is most vulnerable.

A team led by Dr. James Paulson at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va., pored over relevant studies and selected 43 research papers done in 16 countries. All in, the studies included 28,000 new dads.

Overall, their analysis concluded that 10 percent of the study participants suffered from postpartum depression. But that number was significantly higher three months after childbirth, with around 25 percent of men coping with symptoms.

That's much lower than rates of maternal postpartum depression reported in the analysis. Around 41.6 percent of new moms struggled with depression three months after the birth.

"Depression affects both parents and both parents should be on the lookout for it," Paulson told Live Science.

But American parents were worst off: The study found significantly higher rates of postpartum depression in surveys done in the United States.

Paulson and his colleagues speculate that American workplace policies, which tend to restrict time off for parents of newborns, might be at least partially to blame.

Men's postpartum is also correlated to women's, perhaps because men tend to become angry, withdrawn and critical when they're afflicted. That behavior can have a profound impact on the mental health of their partner.

Women are vulnerable to hormonal changes that can trigger depression after childbirth. For men, it's likely an issue of stress, inadequate rest and insufficient support.

"The events surrounding pregnancy and childbirth can be stressful for both partners. It would be hard for the man to be in the woman's shoes, but it could be similarly stressful for both parents," Dr. Peter Schmidt of the National Institutes of Health told Reuters.

By doing more research on postpartum depression among dads, Paulson hopes to raise awareness and diminish stigma. If parents are aware, before a child is born, that they're both at risk of depression, then they'll be more likely to be on the lookout for symptoms.

"Fathers do experience postpartum depression and prenatal depression," he told Bloomberg Businessweek. "If they are aware of that, they may be able to catch it early."