Wonderful again this morning to have the opportunity to speak out about Dad’s and Post Natal Depression thanks to Today.

As I’ve previously blogged, it seems we have understated the effect of birth on fathers. Click here for the recent blog on new fathers and fussy babies.

So far just about all of us have heard of maternal postnatal depression (PND). However, we have little awareness and recognition of paternal stress and depression. My survey results highlighted the anguish and pain for fathers (as well as the delight, joy and love).

• The incidence of maternal PND is around 14%    Men may suffer from psychological distress after childbirth and birth-related PND is not a rare condition. Research findings here.
• The incidence of paternal PND is around 8%   
• We also know that in families in which mum has PND; fathers have about a 1/3rd likelihood of being depressed as well. Not a good combination!  
• PND can be serious. Even life threatening.   
• Dads generally don’t understand maternal PND (nor do mothers if it remains undiagnosed). As a result it can be difficult for dads to be appropriately supportive. Even the best fathers/husbands can become critical and judgmental of their depressed partners
• Dads like fixing things. They don’t get that PND can’t be fixed immediately. Dads feel powerless and helpless
• Crying, colicky, irritable babies feed in to this  cycle, causing frustration, loss of self confidence, and sleep deprivation   
• Dads don’t know how to deal with the unsettled, crying baby. If the baby is breast fed, what can the dad do to help?  

There are a number of tools out there and solutions are available:

• for us all to be aware of the problem. Research supports including fathers in strategies related to infant settling. An intervention/prevention approach to infant behaviour problems should include fathers
• the Australian Government has shown awareness of maternal PND with a $55 million 5 year program, including routine and universal screening.
• Information and awareness – October is Beyond Blue’s Anxiety and Depression Awareness Month
• better family and community supports with higher recognition of the issue of PND  
• less stigma associated with negative  parental-baby experience/depression  
• even better training of, and awareness by  Obstetricians, Midwives, Paediatricians, GP’s, Child Health Nurses   
• strategies and tools (dads love tools!) to settle a crying baby.   Research supports including fathers in strategies related to infant settling. A simple tool, Sounds for Silence can help mothers and fathers settle their baby. Demonstrated here and here.
• good non-judgmental individual or group counseling   
• medication

Dads’ distress and powerlessness has always concerned me. I’m pleased to  continue to highlight PND and fathers. The task of making life easier for parents should never be abandoned!

A quarter of a million babies born are each year in Australia and ten times that in America – that equates to a whole lot of new fathers every single day!

Happy, excited, scared, stunned, delirious and flustered fathers. First time dads, experienced dads, happy dads and depressed dads. Yes, fathers who are suffering from Depression following the birth of their babies. While there is ample evidence and research about Post Natal Depression in women, it seems we have understated the effect on fathers.

“The birth of his first child marks one of the most profound changes a man may undergo, transforming his standing in the community, his most intimate relationships and his identity. Yet he may come to the moment of his infant’s birth naïvely, unprepared for the speed of the changes taking place, and unaware of the range and depth of the demands he will face.” MJA, Addressing depression and anxiety among new fathers.

Becoming a parent is a very different experience for males and females. Pregnancy and birth necessarily focuses on women. It is after all, a physical reality. No escaping a pregnant belly. But what about the dads? A father’s role and its impact can be misunderstood, understated or neglected. We know that having a baby is one of the most blissful and stressful events in a relationship. It’s also fair to say that many men enter fatherhood are unprepared for the lifestyle changes that the bundle of joy will bring. We don’t read the manual for the DVD player, so how many new dads will we find propped up in bed reading What to Expect when you are Expecting? Did you? Even as a Pediatrician, I left much of that emotional preparation up to my wife.

Unfortunately ignorance is not bliss in the case of parenting. Difficulties after the birth of a crying baby hit men too. It is believed that in half of the cases where a mother is suffering PND, the father is depressed too. But where is the research? Why are we not talking about this?

A review of the literature over the last two years has shown that there is very little new research on the effect of parenthood on fathers. The frequency and severity of impact on fathers and post natal depression in fathers is currently under-rated and undiagnosed. It’s time we heard from the dads.

Please take our 10 question, 3 minute survey and tell me about how it was for you. It won’t be anywhere near as difficult as changing that first nappy or diaper, and the evidence gathered will be much more useful! Go, do it now. Let’s help put the attention on fathers.

“Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad”

(Author Unknown)