When most people think of postpartum depression, their thoughts turn to new moms-and for good reason: As many as 15 per cent of women become depressed or experience anxiety after having a baby. But researchers have unveiled a new finding: Guys can get the baby blues, too. A study published in April's issue of Pediatrics put the number of new fathers with postpartum depression at seven per cent. After looking at more than 1,700 dads with one-year-olds, the researchers also found that depression had a negative effect on parenting-depressed dads were more likely to spank their children and less likely to read to them.
Who gets the baby blues?
The number of guys affected by postpartum depression varies in the limited research that's been done and the topic isn't talked about much, so many new dads are unable to identify their feelings as signals that they need help. The recent Pediatrics study found that about seven per cent of new fathers experience postpartum depression, but more worrisome is the finding that dads' depression extends to their newborns. Fathers who were depressed were more than three times more likely than non-depressed dads to have spanked their child in the past month and were less likely to read to their child three or more days a week.
But therapist and author Will Courtenay, PhD, LCSW, whose Oakland, California private practice includes fathers with postpartum depression, believes it's even more prevalent. "Fourteen per cent of new dads in the United States experience postpartum depression. That amounts to nearly 1,700 dads each day who become newly depressed," he says. Dr Courtenay points out another study that found that risk for men increases when the mother has postpartum depression, jumping to nearly 50 per cent. New dads' sudden change in mood can be triggered by a number of factors specific to the postpartum period, including adjustments the entire family has to make for a new baby-lack of sleep, and even, in some men, corresponding hormone changes. A history of mood disorders is also one of the risk factors for postpartum depression in fathers.
Ten warning signs of postpartum depression in dads
Just knowing the signs and symptoms of depression might help, says Courtenay. Depression can be different for men than women. Where women may be more likely to be tearful or sad, depression in men can appear as anger or irritability. Other signs and symptoms for postpartum depression in men include:
• Changes in sleep patterns
• Low mood or persistent sadness
• Changes in appetite
• Loss of interest in activities and hobbies you once enjoyed
• Lack of motivation
• Feeling worthless or as if your family or baby would better off without you
• Increased use of alcohol or illicit drugs
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Physical aches and pains with no apparent cause
• Thoughts of harming oneself or suicide
How to get treatment for postpartum depression
Unfortunately, men face a barrier to seeking treatment that is largely rooted in society's beliefs about manhood. "The cultural myth is that men don't get depressed and tells men that they shouldn't get depressed-so they shouldn't show it, that they should just 'man up.' And so they don't get treated," said Courtenay. And unlike women, men do not typically see their doctor after baby's arrival, so there is one less point of contact with someone who could ask the right questions.
Interestingly, the researchers in the Pediatrics study found that three out of four depressed fathers had talked to their child's pediatrician in the year after their child's birth, suggesting that pediatricians could have a role in helping to identify depressed dads, as well as give them tools to relate better to their children. Treatment for depression includes talk therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy as well as antidepressants for a period of time and improvements in diet and exercise.
