1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,640 Speaker 1: Lauren Bogelbaum here. For some time, researchers and mental health 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: experts have known that postpartum depression is not something solely 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: experienced by new mothers. New fathers too may experienced depression. 5 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: We spoke with Brandon Eddie, an assistant professor in the 6 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:24,120 Speaker 1: Couple and Family Therapy program at the University of Nevada, 7 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: Las Vegas. He learned a little about postpartum depression when 8 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: his wife experienced it after the couple's first child, and 9 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,480 Speaker 1: has studied how postpartum depression affects men too. He wrote 10 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: about it for a paper in the February twenty nineteen 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,239 Speaker 1: edition of the Journal of Family Issues. It's titled Forgotten 12 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: Fathers Postpartum Depression in Men. Already, Eddie's hearing from many 13 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: who applaud his efforts to force this illness more into 14 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: the open. Eddie said, I had a former co worker 15 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 1: who read it and sent me a message. He said, 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: I really appreciated your study. I could really relate with it, 17 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: he said. Everyone asks how's your wife, how's the baby, 18 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: and it ends there. I desperately want someone to ask, 19 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: how are you doing. Many parents of new babies go 20 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,760 Speaker 1: through the baby blues. Mood swings, anxiety, trouble sleeping, and 21 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: general sadness are all symptoms, but when those moods become 22 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: more intense and last longer, when overpowering fatigue sets in, 23 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,760 Speaker 1: when a parent has problems bonding with a newborn, or 24 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: has thoughts of suicide or of harming the baby, those 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: are all signs the postpartum depression has set in. Postpartum 26 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: depression can be especially difficult for men. Because of a 27 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,320 Speaker 1: widely held belief that it's a woman only illness. Much 28 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: of the available information on postpartum depression is still aimed 29 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: exclusively toward women. Even the National Institute for Mental Health 30 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: defines the condition as quote a mood disorder that can 31 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: affect women after childbirth. Yet a twenty ten studies shows 32 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: that somewhere around ten percent of dads and in the 33 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,280 Speaker 1: three to six month period after birth experienced postpartum depression. 34 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,160 Speaker 1: Eddie's research sites another study that says that between twenty 35 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: four and fifty percent of men whose partners have postpartum 36 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: depression also experience it, and of course, as with any 37 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: serious depression, it can impact all aspects of men's lives, 38 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 1: their work, friendships, and relationship with their partner and children. 39 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: With the stigma that surrounds paternal postpartum depression, the idea 40 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: that it's for women only. Men don't get it. You 41 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: didn't carry a baby for nine months. Just suck it 42 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: up and be strong. Finding men willing to talk openly 43 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 1: about their depression was not going to be easy, so 44 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: Eddie and his fellow researchers went to a source where 45 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: anonymity rules and fathers felt free to speak their mind, 46 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: the Internet. After conducting searches for phrases like depression and 47 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: new fathers, Eddie and his co authors scoured chatboards, blogs, 48 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:40,519 Speaker 1: and other forums like Reddit to pull information from twenty 49 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: seven new dads. Eddie said, no one knows who they are, 50 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: so there's not the same sense of shame. It's not 51 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,079 Speaker 1: like all eyeballs are upon you. So sometimes that makes 52 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: it a lot easier to share their experiences. These people 53 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: were in a safe place where they were able to 54 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: express themselves. Eddie's research uncovered six main themes from those 55 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: online comments. First, father's need education. It became clear that 56 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: although they may not have known what to call it, 57 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: many of the commenters were living with paternal postpartum depression. Second, 58 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,919 Speaker 1: men experiencing postpartum depression were anxious about adhering to gender expectations. 59 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: One commenter said, I wanted to cry and give up 60 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: being a father, but I was afraid to acknowledge those 61 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: thoughts and feelings in myself. It wasn't becoming of a 62 00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: man and father to feel those things. Third, the fathers 63 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: were repressing their feelings. For example, one said she's with 64 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:32,920 Speaker 1: the kids all day every day, and I'm home to 65 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: help for six hours and can't handle it. Fourth, the 66 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: men felt overwhelmed. One said I have the feeling that 67 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: I'm constantly on the edge of bursting into tears. Fifth, 68 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: their own negative feelings led to some resentment of their babies. 69 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: One said baby cries can unearth some darkness in me 70 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: I've found. And six, the fathers themselves felt neglected. One 71 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: said I blamed both my wife and my son for 72 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: my feelings of loss and insignificance. My wife seemed to 73 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: consider me selfish and irresponsible. These were the common threads, 74 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: and although of course it sucks to have these feelings, 75 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: they're completely valid. These feelings are real, recognized by scientists. 76 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,040 Speaker 1: And caused. Some experts believe at least impart by chemical 77 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: changes in men's bodies. Postpartum depression and women has been 78 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:22,599 Speaker 1: tied to a dip in the hormone estrogen. But women 79 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: aren't alone in dealing with falling hormone levels. Men experience 80 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: a drop in testosterone from early to late pregnancy, and 81 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: that's been linked to depression too. Most importantly, fathers need 82 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: to know that help is available. A talk with a 83 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,400 Speaker 1: help practitioner maybe the first step towards shaking postpartum depression. 84 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:42,760 Speaker 1: If seeing a psychologist is intimidating, a family doctor can 85 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,479 Speaker 1: help you reach a diagnosis, prescribe medications that may help, 86 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: and put you in touch with a mental health practitioner 87 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: that you'd be comfortable with. Eddie said, the sooner you 88 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: get help, the better. If you put this off, you're 89 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: going to have more distance grow between you and your partner, 90 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: You're going to isolate yourself, and you're going to put 91 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: yourself in a bad situation. So seeking out help as 92 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: soon as you recognize something is off is really the 93 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:04,760 Speaker 1: way to go and the way to limit how much 94 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 1: it impacts you and your family. Today's episode was written 95 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: by John Donovan and produced by Tyler Clain. Brain Stuff 96 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heartmedia's How Stuff Works. For 97 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: more on this and lots of other mental health topics, 98 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,240 Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And 99 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:24,719 Speaker 1: for more podcasts. For my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 100 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 101 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: favorite shows.