A new American study published in the professional journal Pediatrics suggests that it is not just young mothers who suffer from postpartum depression. Young fathers can also experience depression after the arrival of their first child. And if they become a dad around 25, they have a 68% more risk of suffering from this form of depression, which has nothing to do with the baby blues.
Between 4 and 5% of young fathers suffer from depression
The symptoms of postnatal depression are fairly simple to identify: unreasonable fears, difficulty in relational or permanent anxiety with the baby, the propensity to let go. But if this form of depression is now accepted in women, no one thought until then that men could also suffer from it. This study, led by Professor Craig Garfield, a pediatrician at Northwestern University in Chicago, opens up new avenues of work for pediatricians.
For his study, the latter followed the files of 10,623 young men enrolled in a large health study. Among them, 33% became a father between the ages of 24 and 32. “And it was estimated that between 4 and 5% of these young fathers suffered or had suffered from post-natal depression, within 5 years of the birth of their baby,” adds the pediatrician.
Alerting loved ones to the symptoms of postpartum depression
“Postnatal depression has a detrimental effect on children, especially in the early years which are key years for attachment between parents and infant. We knew this form of father depression existed but we didn’t. did not know where to focus our attention. This study has opened our eyes. We need those close to the new father to be alerted and encourage him to seek help if they find that he is has less enthusiasm, less desire to enjoy the things in life or that he is more anxious after the birth of his child “insists Dr Garfield.
