Postpartum depression? It’s not just a mom thing.
Using U.S. Department of Education survey data, James Paulson’s team studied 5,000 families with a 9-month-old infant. The researchers weren’t surprised to find that 14 percent of mothers suffered postpartum depression — but the 10 percent figure for men was two to three times higher than projected.
While the father might suffer in silence, the effects of depression during the first year of parenthood can be damaging to the child’s development, said Paulson, a community health and research professor at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va.
“When parents are depressed, they engage in fewer positive parenting activities — less singing, less playing, less reading to their child,” he explained after presenting his research at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on May 6. “There’s a very significant impact.”
Left untreated, depression can worsen, with more debilitating effects. Even in cases when the depression abates over time, the child is deprived of needed attention until it does. That’s why it’s best to seek help when symptoms persist more than two weeks.
“The take-home message is that even if a parent is willing to endure depression, it affects their children’s development,” Paulson said.
All new parents struggle with stress and sleep deprivation. So what are the signs of true depression? Paulson offers these clues: inability to take joy in new baby, feeling down, uncharacteristic anxiety and irritability, hopelessness, consistent low energy, appetite changes and behavior changes lasting two weeks or more.
Given the reluctance of many men to admit there’s a problem, Paulson stresses “[depression] is not abnormal, freakish or bad; it’s something that happens, and they should feel OK talking about it and seeking help for it.” He suggests meeting with a doctor, counselor or social worker.
“The worst way to address any mental health problem is alone.”
