Sad Dad
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, May 19, 2010 2:00 PM
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Here’s an interesting story on a recent study that finds almost ten percent of men suffer from postpartum depression.
In fact, postpartum depression in new fathers is a real phenomenon, and is more common than previously thought, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. About 10 percent of men have prenatal and postpartum depression, the study found; previous research had estimated 5 percent, said lead author James Paulson of the department of pediatrics at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
I’ll admit that my inital reaction to these findings was something along the lines of “boo-hoo.” Which, upon further reflection I realized was not very charitable. But I do indeed have mixed feelings about this study, not the findings but the topic itself.
On the one hand, it seems absolutely logical that a man would experience a major adjustment period to a new baby. Truthfully, this affects his world as much as the mother’s. Life is disrupted (in a very good way or course) when a new baby enters the scene.
But I couldn’t help feeling slightly protective of any woman whose husband might suffer from this. I am currently experiencing all the upheaval a newborn brings and if I couldn’t count on my husband to be a rock, to be quick to offer me encouragement and help, that would make things much more difficult.
I hope the men who do suffer from PPD are quick to push past those feelings, the best they can, to offer their wife the support she so desperately needs during this critical time.
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