Fathers experience Postpartum Depression too. Really?
Just read an interesting article in the New York Times. Physicians are now coming to believe that dads can experience postpartum depression as well as moms. We all know that the “Baby Blues” impact a great number of women (studies suggest the number is as high as 80%). In addition, about 10% of new moms develop severed postpartum depression. But dads?
According to the article, the factors leading fathers to develop postpartum depression are both social and psychological as well as biological. For some fathers the concern over another mouth to feed and body to clothe and house and bottom to diaper can become so great that it leads to depression. For others, the reality that life as they have always known it is going to change in a big way is another factor. For these fathers the fear of losing freedom and flexibility can be debilitating.
For some, the depression has a biological origin. There is evidence that testosterone levels drop in men whose partners are pregnant. Apparently, this is evolutions way of making the male less aggressive in order to protect the female and infant. There are many studies that link low testosterone levels to depression in men.
However, the largest factor in being depressed is having a depressed partner. In one study, father’s whose partners were depressed were over 200% more likely to become depressed than new dads whose partners did not suffer from depression.
So, what do you think? Is postpartum depression only for women?