Daddys Get 'Baby Blues', Too
By GALTime
It looks like postpartum depression doesn't just hit new moms. Researchers say there are a significant number of sad dads, as well.
About 10.4 percent of fathers experience prenatal or postpartum depression between the first trimester of pregnancy through the baby's first year, according to a new review in the Journal of the American Medical Association. When and for whom are the rates highest? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT.
"There are many implications of these findings. The observation that expecting and new fathers disproportionately experience depression suggests that more efforts should be made to improve screening and referral, particularly in light of the mounting evidence that early paternal depression may have substantial emotional, behavioral, and developmental effects on children," said Drs. James F. Paulson, Ph.D., and Sharnail D. Bazemore, M.S., of the Eastern Virginia Medical School, authors of the review.
(What Are All Those Prenatal Tests For Anyway?)
Researchers analyzed 43 studies involving 28,004 fathers from several countries. Paternal depression was worst in the United States at 14.1 percent while the international rate was 8.2 percent.
The data also showed a correlation between depression in mothers and fathers. The authors say this suggests "depression in one parent should prompt clinical attention to the other. Likewise, prevention and intervention efforts for depression in parents might be focused on the couple and family rather than the individual."
About 15 percent of women suffer from postpartum mood disorders, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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