Postpartum depression also affects men

Bringing a life to the world is a rewarding experience for both mothers and fathers. However, there are times when this situation overwhelms the parents and ends up making them fall into a state of sadness. It is usually the mother who is most affected by the postpartum depression.

However, the father can also be a victim of these situations once his son has arrived in this world. This is indicated by the Northwestern Feinberg University of Chicago, which has detailed how men can be affected by postpartum depression once their partners have given birth.

Same symptoms as in the mother

This group of researchers points out that usually the medical work is focused on the mothers after the birth, leaving aside the state of the father. These professionals assure that there are many occasions in which the man has the same symptoms as a woman with postpartum depression: sadness, hopelessness, disappointment at not knowing how to treat your child, constant fear of hurting the baby.


However, in most cases men are left unattended in these situations and have to go through them in lonely. This is also because men, unlike mothers, do not start with this postpartum depression right after delivery. The father begins with these symptoms around the third month of the baby's life.

After analyzing the data of 10,623 young parents, the researchers found that around 10% of these men had symptoms that could be considered typical of postpartum depression. This feeling was increased in the cases in which the parents lived away from their children since they feel that they are not playing the role that would touch them and have neglected their offspring.


Therapies for parents

At this point the researchers They claim that medical professionals also have to remember that men are likely to be victims of postpartum depression. A therapy focused on males can be of great help for the subsequent development of children. "We know a lot about mothers and maternal depression and the effect it has on children, but now we are beginning to know about paternal depression," explains Craig Garfield, lead author of this work.

For these professionals, the most important thing is to ensure that parents are also taken into account within the birth process and not as an outside agent. In this way these problems will be better noticed and it will be possible for both men and women to overcome them, assuming their role in a good way and making the children have a good development.


Damián Montero

Video: Mayo Clinic Minute: Postpartum Depression - Not Just the Baby Blues


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