The Truth About Postpartum Depression In Men
In a Nutshell
New dads experience depression at roughly twice the general population rate (~10%), yet are rarely screened or recognized. Mental health is not a zero-sum resource—treating fathers' perinatal depression directly improves outcomes for mothers and infants. Dismissing men's symptoms as mere "discomfort" or claiming men are appropriating the term ignores both the shared risk factors and the family-wide cost of untreated paternal depression.
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New dads experience weight gain, testosterone changes, and increased vulnerability to mood disorders. The prevalence of depression in new dads is about twice that of the general population. There is controversy about whether to call it postpartum depression in dads.
Perinatal depression is considered a better term because it means around the birth of a baby. The distinction is largely semantic. Postpartum simply means after the birth of a baby and is a gender-neutral term that does not require having physically delivered the infant. Risk factors for depression are shared by new moms and new dads including stress, disrupted sleep, relationship conflict, new responsibilities, identity crisis, hormone changes, and brain changes.
Some women feel that men are appropriating the term postpartum depression. The strongest interpretation is that childbirth for women is so arduous and traumatic that any man appearing to liken his challenges to those of mothers is seen as callous and dismissive of maternal sacrifice. Women have worked hard to get postpartum depression recognized with inadequate funding and attention paid to reproductive health and mood disorders in mothers. Some women's health advocates feel men are making it about themselves.
A psychotherapist working with new dads reports that women's health advocates say "Can't we have this one thing?" The argument against this position is that failing to treat fathers' mental health negatively impacts mothers and children. Mental health is not a fixed pie or zero-sum game. The best predictor of mom's mental health is the support she receives from her partner.
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