An excerpt from the article published in The Ballarat Courier on 13 June 2012
TIME OF CHANGE: About 10 per cent of fathers become depressed between the first trimester of their partner’s pregnancy and one year following the birth.
When one parent suffers with depression, the likelihood of the other parent also becoming symptomatic is increased substantially.
In fact, we know that some 10 per cent of fathers become depressed between the first trimester of their partner’s pregnancy and one year following the birth.
Statistics demonstrate that the lowest point for fathers is between three and six months after the birth of their baby, when rates of depression can rise to as high as 26 per cent of new dads.
However, fathers are often not as accessible as mothers. In the health system the pregnant woman is considered most often to be ‘the patient’.
It’s the woman who needs to visit the doctor or hospital throughout the pregnancy, who is admitted to hospital to deliver, and for whom the follow-up appointments are booked.
Depression, anxiety and mood disorders in men often go unrecognised and are, therefore, left untreated.
Early identification and treatment of mental health disorders in fathers is paramount to avoid long-term consequences for not only the man, but his partner and children.
For some families, the anticipation or arrival of a newborn, particularly in the face of a mental illness, can be an anxious time.
You may be an expectant mother or father, first-time mother or father, mother or father of second and subsequent children, or a mother or father who has suffered a pregnancy loss.
Nowadays, men are considered the client in their own right. Paternal depression in the perinatal period can be difficult to assess. New fathers may seem more angry and anxious than sad, which leads us to ask the question of depression being present.
Adjusting to a pregnancy or newborn impacts new fathers as well as new mothers, and the emotional health of the father should also be considered and treated during this important time.
For more information, contact Louise.
Copyright Louise Shalders.
