Postpartum depression in new dads is often missing

(Reuters Health) – While many people can detect signs of postpartum depression in new mothers, the same signs are often confused with those of other or completely forgotten fathers, suggests a British study.

The researchers explain that the mental health disorder can occur in either parent until one year after the birth of a child.

New fathers, like mothers, are struggling with anxiety, depression and trauma, and are also struggling to bond with their babies, said Mark Williams, founder of Fathers Reaching Out, a charity based in the United States. UK that promotes mental health awareness. Williams did not participate in the new study.

In fact, a previously published study found that one in four fathers had suffered postpartum depression within three to six months of a child's birth.

Study leader Viren Swami, a professor of social psychology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK, began researching the subject after he learned he was suffering from the disorder after birth of his son.

"Once I was diagnosed, I wanted to do more research and find out why so many people like me think that men can not suffer from postnatal depression," Swami told Reuters Health by phone.

Swami and his colleagues recruited 406 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 70 and asked them to read two vignettes describing almost identical situations in which the subject was suffering from postpartum depression, but one with a man and the other. Another with a woman.

The participants were first asked if they thought something was wrong with the subjects. Almost everyone – 97% – answered "yes" to the vignette with the woman and 79.5% answered "yes" to the man.

Then the participants were asked about what they thought was wrong. In the case of the mother, 90.1% correctly listed postnatal depression, postnatal depression or depression, while only 46.4% did so for the father.

Responses indicating "baby blues" as a reason were considered incorrect because this kind of ephemeral mood swings are different from postnatal or postpartum depression and usually go away a week after birth, write Swami and his team in the Journal of Mental Health.

For the woman, a clear majority of 92.9% said the problem was depression.

Of the people who felt that something was wrong with the case study man, 61% thought rightly that it could be wrong. A form of depression. But 20.8% think that the father's symptoms could be stress, 11% react with fatigue and stress, and some others say it could be anxiety, feelings of neglect or "baby blues".

The invisibility of their depression could force fathers to fend for themselves instead of seeking professional help, according to the research team.

According to the researchers, one of the drawbacks of the study is that participants were recruited online. They may not represent all adults.

"Because many people do not realize that men can contract PND (postnatal depression), it is easier to minimize the symptoms, the severity of the PND or the need to seek help," he said. Brandon Eddy, Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who did not participate in the study.

But some of the new results are encouraging, he said.

"Although a much higher percentage of respondents recognized PND among women, there was still a substantial amount that recognized the PND at the father's," Eddy said by e-mail.

"There are many fathers who suffer from PND who think they are alone and no one sees their suffering. More and more people are starting to recognize that paternal NDP is real, "he added.

Previous research has shown that educational programs on maternal postnatal depression can improve awareness of the disease, the researchers wrote.

"Similarly, rigorous programs to support new fathers and raise awareness of paternal postnatal depression are now urgently needed," they said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2VBNEyZ Journal of Mental Health, online May 9, 2019.