Study Finds Importance of Screening New Dads for Postpartum Depression

One in every seven new moms will at some point deal with postpartum depression. And new study out of the University of Illinois Chicago found that dads are similarly susceptible to experiencing the issue. 

The research, published in the BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth journal, suggests that new dads should also be screened for postpartum after becoming parents. According to the study authors, by identifying issues like postpartum and guiding fathers through it, new dads may be able to help improve the maternal health crisis, as the health of two parents is often intertwined. 

"A lot of dads are stressed. They’re scared. They’re struggling with balancing work and parental and partner responsibilities," study lead author Dr. Sam Wainwright explained in a university statement. "Men are often not doing well, but no one is asking them about it."

The scientists interviewed 24 dads and used a diagnosis tool commonly used for screening moms for postpartum. In total, 30 percent of dads screened positive for postpartum depression. 

A two-parent dynamic with a new child means everyone involved is reliant on each other for support in many different ways. That means that a man dealing with postpartum can very well have an effect on his partner and her ability to get through it. 

"A woman at risk for postpartum depression is much more likely to get postpartum depression if she has a depressed partner," Wainwright stated plainly. He went on to say that one thing the team frequently heard from the participants was "I’m really stressed, but I don’t want my partner to know because I’m here to support her."

Studies in the past have placed the number of dads dealing with postpartum between 8 and 13 percent, so the 30 percent result that the team reached was certainly an outlier. Wainwright believes that their findings were higher because nearly 90 percent of the study's participants were from groups facing structural racism and social issues like crime and poverty that can worsen mental health. 

Wainwright and his colleagues are doing more research, even as informal as talking to dads in the obstetrics waiting area at the hospital and screening for conditions like high blood pressure during these conversations. Some men in the study who didn't have a primary care physician have started seeing Wainwright for medical care, while others have asked for mental health services. 

Connecting with young men where they are, Wainwright believes, is a crucial part of ensuring they enter fatherhood on stable ground. "How can we show them that it’s important to take care of yourself for the sake of your baby, for the sake of your partner and for your own sake?" he said.

Hopefully dads can use some of their paternity leave time to focus on themselves in addition to their new baby.