Dads Get Postpartum Depression Just Like Moms, Study Finds
May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Move over, mothers: about 10 percent of dads experience depression before or after their child is born, an analysis of previous research found.
A higher rate of depression symptoms, almost 26 percent, was reported for fathers three to six months after their baby’s birth, according to research published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. That’s greater than the roughly 5 percent of the adult U.S. male population that suffers from depression, according to previous research cited by the study.
Much attention has gone to mothers’ postpartum depression that shows overall rates of 10 percent to 30 percent, while less notice has gone to fathers, the study authors said. Today’s report on dads, the first to pull together research from 43 previous studies in 16 countries, shows overall depression symptoms in new and expecting fathers doubles from baseline rates, said lead author James Paulson.
“This isn’t something that’s a widely recognized phenomenon,” said Paulson, an associate professor of pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, in a May 14 telephone interview. “It highlights that as a problem, and a problem that seems to occur before and after birth and across all nations.”
Symptoms of depression, including feelings of profound sadness, fatigue and worthlessness, loss of interest and thoughts of death or suicide can occur in mothers and fathers, he said.
Postpartum Depression
In women, postpartum depression can begin anytime within the first year after childbirth, and the onset is linked to a variety of factors. After childbirth, hormone levels plummet, and changes in blood volume and metabolism can lead to fatigue and mood swings, according to the Mayo Clinic. Emotional triggers caused by lack of sleep and feelings of being overwhelmed may contribute as well as difficulty with breast feeding and a lack of social support.
In men, Paulson said, it’s difficult to know what causes the condition during a partner’s pregnancy and after the baby arrives. The depression may be tied to whether their partner suffers from depression. It may also occur because of changes in perceived role in life, financial stress, isolation from friends and social activities and sleep deprivation, he said.
28,004 People
Paulson and co-author Sharnail Bazemore, a research associate at Eastern Virginia, looked at previous studies to determine how often fathers become depressed during their partners’ pregnancies and after the babies arrive. They also reviewed how depression in the men related to depression in mothers. Today’s findings came from an analysis of studies involving 28,004 people from the countries including the U.S., the Netherlands, Spain, Australia and the U.K.
The researchers found about 2,900, or 10.4 percent, of the men in the studies suffered from depression either before the baby was born or after. The depression was highest in the three to six months following the baby’s arrival. Paulson said that may be because family leave ends about that time, particularly in the U.S.
“Fathers do experience postpartum depression and prenatal depression,” he said. “If they are aware of that, they may be able to catch it early.”
The depression rate for pregnant and new moms in the study was about 24 percent, with about 42 percent experiencing postpartum depression from three to six months after the baby’s birth, according to the analysis.
Paulson is working on a study looking at depression in moms and dads starting in the third trimester of pregnancy through six months after a baby’s birth to see who develops the illness and what’s going on in the family that may cause depression.
