Claire
Did you know that between 5-10% of partners get postpartum depression or anxiety? For the purpose of this post, we’re going to shed some light on fathers who get postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression and anxiety in partners – Some Facts
- Postpartum depression and anxiety aren’t just for moms.
- Between 5 and 10 percent of new fathers in the United States suffer from PPD, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
- One study shows that the risk goes up to 24 to 50% for men whose partners suffer from PPD.
- Overall, the findings of said study complement previous studies on barriers for fathers suffering from PPD.
- Researchers said encountering a lack of information and stigma often causes dads to distance themselves from their child and has been associated with marital difficulties.
- “The expectations society gives to men of what they are supposed to be, what they are supposed to do, and how they do it was a significant factor in how many of these men chose to cope with life stressors,” the researchers wrote.
- “Because men are already less likely than women to seek professional help for depression, it is vital that the stigma of PPD decreases,” they added.
- “Because paternal involvement is a significant factor in the healthy development of children, it would seem wise to make information about paternal PPD more available in order to combat its negative impact on families.”
How often do you hear about men suffering from postpartum depression? There is a huge stigma for women suffering from this disease, but the stigma for men is even worse! 😢
Tag your partner or a male friend in this post! If we band together and talk about these issues, it will help decrease the stigma and make it easier for men to seek help.
Originally posted 2021-05-04 16:06:35.
Very nice post ❤️
Wow, thank you for shedding some light on this! I had honestly never heard of it before now.
So much good info here friend! 💙
I was literally just wondering if it’s a thing yesterday 🤤 gotta research if we have support around here!
My husband had/has it. It was so incredibly bad. It manifested in his lack of interest. We had a 3 week period that he didn’t hold, play, or talk to the baby. I asked so many times for help from my OB and my Ped and they both said that they only had resources for moms. They could only point me to the father section of PPI. Which is good, but when your partner is in denial and won’t accept help it really doesn’t help. I needed someone to tell me what to do to help him, but no one could.
Such an overlooked topic! So important for us to understand. Thanks for sharing!
My husband had it and it was so so hard. I never realized until later that it was a thing. It’s really sad cuz society has ZERO grace for dad’s who are struggling. They’re just told to “suck it up and be a dad.” I feel like I’m still getting over some of my personal coping skills that I had to use to make it through that first year before things started getting better. Our child is 4.5 years old and we’re expected our second this fall. I’m hoping things will be better this time around but if not I’m better educated and will insist he gets professional help.
Question: if you already have depression since before pregnancy, do you still classify it at antenatal and postpartum depression or is it just regular depression but you happen to be pregnant?? Trying to figure this out for my own curiosity:) looking for opinions from experts. Thanks 💜
Yes! This is so important! Thanks for bringing awareness to this!
Yes, it’s different for dads but VERY REAL!
Yes!!! Thank you for talking about this
I love that you are shedding light on this. I often talk about this with my clients 💕