Postpartum depression in men

A newborn makes such a great difference in his parent’s life. You cant sleep when  you want to or  watch your favorite game without interruption  . There is also loads of laundry to wash, tons of baby bottles to clean while giving a newborn your utmost attention.

There are also certain things that come into play when a newborn comes into the family .

• you have to spend more money
• you have more demands on your time
• your partner may feel differently about her body
• you may feel jealous about the bond between mother and baby
• you may feel guilty about making your partner pregnant
• there is also a new person in the family who literally redefines the  meaning of the word love

This causes some  men to be panicky and anxious . They have trouble sleeping and become miserable most of the time. They may also be irritable. They perform bad at work, drink a lot , get angry at their  partners  for no reason or withdraw from people. These are all signs of postpartum depression in men.

Doctors are paying more attention to postpartum depression in  both mothers  and fathers.  About 10% to 12 women experience postpartum depression and about 10% of men do as well.  Postpartum depression in dads is a very serious condition. Without treatment it can cause damaging , long term consequences  for a man, his child  and the entire family. However with proper support, men can fully recover from from this condition.

This condition can profoundly affect children , causing developmental delays, social problems as well as behavioral issues. Depressed fathers are more likely to spank their children more than fathers without depression. They are less likely to play games, sing songs or read to their children. However children whose  mothers have  postpartum depression have very involved fathers who protect them from some of the negative effects of their mother’s depression.

Doctors have recently begun using questionaries used to screen mothers for this condition on dads too.