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Daddy Baby Blues?
Understanding How Postpartum Depression Affects New Dads
By Gina Roberts-Grey
r weeks of having a child and continuing with their role as provider. "Worrying about how we'll be perceived as a man makes new fathers want to project that we're easily adjusting to our new lifestyle," says Schmidt.
While neglecting to consider a new father's emotional state may not be intentional, the reality is this occurs more often than not. "It is easy to miss early signs of paternal postpartum depression because a man's natural tendency is to ignore or dismiss the thought that he needs any type of emotional help or support," says Paula Ashenbach, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Shawnee Mission, Kan. A father who may be struggling to connect with his child, feels disconnected from his wife or life or feels he is not worthy of fatherhood may search for plausible justification for his feelings or fight to entirely suppress them out of embarrassment, fear or frustration.
In addition to seeking a trained diagnosis, knowing the difference between being sleep deprived and having signs of PPD is crucial for parents to receive accurate and adequate treatment. The American Psychological Association (APA) has identified a number of symptoms as those "typical" of patients experiencing postpartum depression. The APA lists obsessive thoughts, chest pains or difficulty breathing, feelings of helplessness or inadequacy, the inability to form an attachment to his child and trouble maintaining typical sleep patterns as a few of the signs that a new dad may have paternal PPD and recommends anyone experiencing these symptoms contact their physician.
Because postpartum depression can lead parents to contemplate personal harm or harming their child, health care experts and the APA emphatically urge anyone who experiences thoughts of suicide or of causing any type of physical harm to seek immediate medical assistance to prevent an unnecessary tragedy.
"There are some circumstances that place a man at a higher risk for paternal PPD," says Ashenbach. "A father who has a history of depression, has a high stress level, shared a traumatic or difficult pregnancy or birth of his child or has little to no social support has a greater chance of experiencing some level of PPD."
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