Not just mums: New dads 'can get the baby blues TOO'
GETTY Fathers also suffer from baby blues and depression according to new research
Being stressed about looming fatherhood and being unwell increases the risk of becoming depressed before the birth his child and up to nine months afterwards, according to the study. A new study of Kiwi men found 2.3 per cent get the blues during the last trimester of the pregnancy which nearly doubles to 4.3 per cent following the birth. While fluctuations in hormones are to blame for most women's postnatal depression, stress was to blame for a father feeling down before the birth.
Pregnancy and childbirth may be high risk periods for male depression Dr Lisa Underwood
But afterwards men are more likely to be depressed if stressed out before the arrival of their child, they had broken up, were ill or lost their job. The NHS estimates one in ten women get postnatal depression. Dr Lisa Underwood, a Research Fellow at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, said: "Nearly nine per cent of men report a lifetime presence of depression and 2.6 per cent report a depressive episode within the past year.
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"Pregnancy and childbirth may be high risk periods for male depression. "Yet, interest in perinatal depression has focused on women despite policies to improve the sex balance in research. "Maternal perinatal depression is linked to physiological changes, for example hormone fluctuations. "Expectant and new fathers also experience biological and ecological stressors, including changes to brain circuits, structure, and hormones, that can increase their risk of depression symptoms.
GETTY Stress can make new fathers feel down before their child is born
"Thus, some of the biological mechanisms underlying perinatal depression may increase the risk in both parents." So researcher set out to explore what demographic, social, relationship, and health factors are associated with depression symptoms among men whose partners are pregnant or recently gave birth. The study questioned 3,523 men with an average age of 33 who were in a relationship while their partner was in their third trimester and nine months after the birth of their child. They were asked about antenatal depression symptoms (ADS) and postnatal depression symptoms (PDS). Of these 82 men were affected by elevated ADS and 153 men by elevated PDS nine months after the child was born.
Maternal ADS and PDS were higher at 11.5 per cent and eight per cent respectively. Overall 8.3 per cent of men reported a history of depression compared with 17.9 per cent of women. Elevated depression symptoms for men during a partner's pregnancy were associated with perceived stress and fair to poor health Elevated depression symptoms in fathers after a child's birth were associated with perceived stress in pregnancy, no longer being in a relationship with the mother, having fair to poor health, being unemployed and having a history of depression.
GETTY Being married or cohabiting lowers the risk of depression
She noted "only men at risk of developing PADS have mood difficulties during their partner's pregnancy, while women more generally have mood difficulties. "This suggests that only at-risk men would benefit from intervention, but all pregnant women, regardless of meeting the criteria for a clinical diagnosis, may benefit from support." She added PADS rate were similar to estimated rates of depression in the general male population. She said: "As such, pregnancy specific depression symptoms may be of less concern for men than for women. "However, our sample of men differed from the general population in that all men had a partner at the start of the study.
GETTY Fathers could face increased stress if they found themselves unemployed when their child is born