DrCourtenay

I'm grateful for all of the women in this thread for coming forward and talking about their own experiences with PPD, and for bringing attention to the not uncommon problem of postpartum depression and anxiety. I also want to bring your attention to another thread at AllNurses about Paternal Postnatal Depression (PPND): https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/postpartum-depression-men-108407.html Anywhere from 1 in 10, to as many as 1 in 4, new dads experience postpartum depression. And a man's risk of PPND doubles if his partner is depressed. HALF of all men whose partners have PPD are depressed themselves. Although the symptoms can differ in men, the consequences for a man and his family (including long-term negative consequences for his child's emotional and behavioral development) are not less severe for men than women. I thought you might like to know about a web site for men with PPND: http://www.SadDaddy.com. It's the only Internet site specifically for new dads with depression, and includes lots of information - including potential causes, an self-assessment for new fathers to complete, and an online forum for dads to talk with each other. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (mentioned above) has also been validated with men. A copy of the assessment is available at http://www.SadDaddy.com for a man to complete, to determine whether he might be depressed and need to seek help. Please note that the scoring for men is different than scoring for women. Thanks again for your discussion of this important family topic! Warm regards, Dr. Will Courtenay, The Men's Doc http://www.MensDoc.com

Yes, men DO experience postpartum depression (and anxiety). As someone else mentioned, there's lots of information about this at the web site (http://www.SadDaddy.com). In response to bagladyrn's request for articles on the subject, here are several good ones: Goodman, J.H. (2004). Paternal postpartum depression, its relationship to maternal postpartum depression, and implications for family health. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 45: 26-35. Kim P & Swain, JE (2007). Sad dads: paternal postpartum depression. Psychiatry. 4(2): 36-47. Lane A., Keville R., Morris, M., Kinsella, A., Turner, M., & Barry, S. (1997). Postnatal depression and elation among mothers and their partners: prevalence and predictors. British Journal of Psychiatry. 171: 550-555. Matthey S, Barnett B, Kavanagh DJ, Howie P (2001). Validation of the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale for men, and comparison of item endorsement with their partners. Journal of Affective Disorders, 64, 175-184. Matthey S., Barnett B., Ungerer J., Waters B. (2000). Paternal and maternal depressed mood during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Affective Disorders. 60: 75-85. Thanks again for this important discussion! Dr. Will Courtenay, The Men's Doc

This is a great discussion. I agree with the previous comments about the term PPD. I advocate use of the term Paternal Postnatal Depression (PPND) for men – which has been used widely outside of the U.S. – to distinguish it from PPD in women. And, by the way, men experience physiological changes too – both during pregnancy and early in the postpartum period. And it’s a double whammy; not only do our testosterone levels go down, but our estrogen levels go up. This can certainly wreak havoc on a man’s functioning, and be an underlying trigger for depression or anxiety. As we learn more about postpartum depression, in general, I think that we’re going to discover that lack of sleep is the biggest trigger – for both women and men. We know that when normal, healthy adults are deprived of good sleep for one month, they begin to show all the clinical signs of depression. So, sleep is probably a major culprit. I thought you might like to know about a web site for men with postpartum depression, called PostpartumMen. It can be found at http://www.SadDaddy.com. It's the only Internet site specifically for new dads with depression, and includes lots of information, an assessment for new fathers to complete, and an online forum for dads to talk with each other. The site’s been talked about in another thread at AllNurses.com. Thanks again, and keep up the good work! Warm wishes, Dr. Will Courtenay, The Men's Doctor