Postpartum depression It is a disorder that is usually related to hormonal and emotional aspects in the mother who just had a baby. However, and although in most cases it goes unnoticed, postpartum depression also occurs in the father.
Lack of sleep, new responsibilities and support for a woman with postpartum depression causes between 10% and 25% of men to suffer a distressing emotional state by becoming parents.
In fact, it is absolutely normal for a man to feel emotionally affected by the arrival of a child, especially when it comes to a first-time father whose lifestyle changes completely with the birth of a baby to care for, care for and protect. The roles in the family are defined and this causes in many cases an impact on the mental health of the mother, and also that of the father.
According to a study by the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine that analyzed the situation of more than 28,000 fathers in 16 countries, men do not feel depressed as soon as they become fathers, but a little later.
In the first weeks immediately after birth the parents are happy, however between three and six months of the baby is when more cases of depression are detected among men.
The parents most likely to suffer from it are those whose partners also suffer it, a contagion effect of the most understandable. Therefore, it is very important that when detecting an emotional disorder in either parent, the other is also controlled, thus focusing attention on the couple and not only on the individual.
As in the case of women, and even more so because that of men is less known, every effort should be made to detect and treat paternal depression in time after delivery.
In some cases it is mild and transient, but in others they can seriously affect family life. And of course it also affects the baby, because as the researchers who carried out the study have assured, paternal depression at an early age of the baby can have emotional, behavioral and developmental sequelae in the child.
