Men Can Get Postpartum Depression, Too
When you hear the term “postpartum depression,” you may immediately think of the extreme sadness that sometimes affects women after childbirth. It may surprise you to learn that while 14% of new mothers are afflicted with the condition, about 10% of fathers can also experience moderate or severe postpartum depression.
A study of 5,000 two-parent families with a child nine months old revealed that depression in new fathers was more than twice as common as in the general male population. The study, published in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics, indicated that depression can start two to three weeks after birth and may last up to a year or longer if untreated.
Fathers with this condition are less likely to interact positively with their child through playing, reading, telling stories or singing songs to their child. In addition, it is difficult for them to be supportive of the child’s mother.
When both mother and father are depressed, their new baby is more apt to be exclusively bottle-fed and put to bed on its stomach instead of on its back, now recommended as a safety measure for infants.
The father’s happy interaction with his new baby is necessary for the child to develop cognitively and emotionally in normal ways. Depressed new fathers are more likely to be irritable, aggressive, and sometimes hostile to the infant and the child’s mother.
The depressed new father may feel burdened or trapped by the financial responsibility of a first or additional child. He may also miss the closeness he previously had with the mother. For some husbands, it may feel as though an intruder has come into the couple’s marital relationship or that his own needs are being neglected.
Viagra Talking with a doctor, counselor, psychologist, or social worker can help to make a diagnosis and determine whether depression exists and whether it should to be treated. Severe postpartum depression is not just “baby blues” caused by the fatigue of meeting new demands. In serious cases, it manifests itself in severe sadness or emptiness, withdrawal from family and friends, or a sense of failure. There may even be thoughts of suicide in extreme cases.
If your husband is displaying symptoms of depression, gently approach the subject. You might say, for example, “I believe you have been depressed since our baby was born.” Let him know that it is almost as common for men to suffer postpartum depression as it is for women.
After talking openly about the subject, you may both want to seek help. All of you will benefit in doing so.
A study of 5,000 two-parent families with a child nine months old revealed that depression in new fathers was more than twice as common as in the general male population. The study, published in the August issue of the journal Pediatrics, indicated that depression can start two to three weeks after birth and may last up to a year or longer if untreated.
Fathers with this condition are less likely to interact positively with their child through playing, reading, telling stories or singing songs to their child. In addition, it is difficult for them to be supportive of the child’s mother.
When both mother and father are depressed, their new baby is more apt to be exclusively bottle-fed and put to bed on its stomach instead of on its back, now recommended as a safety measure for infants.
The father’s happy interaction with his new baby is necessary for the child to develop cognitively and emotionally in normal ways. Depressed new fathers are more likely to be irritable, aggressive, and sometimes hostile to the infant and the child’s mother.
The depressed new father may feel burdened or trapped by the financial responsibility of a first or additional child. He may also miss the closeness he previously had with the mother. For some husbands, it may feel as though an intruder has come into the couple’s marital relationship or that his own needs are being neglected.
Viagra Talking with a doctor, counselor, psychologist, or social worker can help to make a diagnosis and determine whether depression exists and whether it should to be treated. Severe postpartum depression is not just “baby blues” caused by the fatigue of meeting new demands. In serious cases, it manifests itself in severe sadness or emptiness, withdrawal from family and friends, or a sense of failure. There may even be thoughts of suicide in extreme cases.
If your husband is displaying symptoms of depression, gently approach the subject. You might say, for example, “I believe you have been depressed since our baby was born.” Let him know that it is almost as common for men to suffer postpartum depression as it is for women.
After talking openly about the subject, you may both want to seek help. All of you will benefit in doing so.
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