WEBVTT - How Common Is Postpartum Depression in Dads? 0:00:02.000 --> 0:00:07.120 Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff, 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:10.640 Lauren Bogelbaum here. For some time, researchers and mental health 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:13.760 experts have known that postpartum depression is not something solely 0:00:13.800 --> 0:00:17.880 experienced by new mothers. New fathers too may experienced depression. 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:21.560 We spoke with Brandon Eddie, an assistant professor in the 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.120 Couple and Family Therapy program at the University of Nevada, 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:27.600 Las Vegas. He learned a little about postpartum depression when 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.280 his wife experienced it after the couple's first child, and 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.480 has studied how postpartum depression affects men too. He wrote 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:35.680 about it for a paper in the February twenty nineteen 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:39.239 edition of the Journal of Family Issues. It's titled Forgotten 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:44.120 Fathers Postpartum Depression in Men. Already, Eddie's hearing from many 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:46.760 who applaud his efforts to force this illness more into 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:49.840 the open. Eddie said, I had a former co worker 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:51.840 who read it and sent me a message. He said, 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:54.520 I really appreciated your study. I could really relate with it, 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:57.480 he said. Everyone asks how's your wife, how's the baby, 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:00.360 and it ends there. I desperately want someone to ask, 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:04.120 how are you doing. Many parents of new babies go 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.760 through the baby blues. Mood swings, anxiety, trouble sleeping, and 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.240 general sadness are all symptoms, but when those moods become 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:15.000 more intense and last longer, when overpowering fatigue sets in, 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:17.760 when a parent has problems bonding with a newborn, or 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:20.520 has thoughts of suicide or of harming the baby, those 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:24.720 are all signs the postpartum depression has set in. Postpartum 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:27.280 depression can be especially difficult for men. Because of a 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:30.320 widely held belief that it's a woman only illness. Much 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:33.280 of the available information on postpartum depression is still aimed 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:37.000 exclusively toward women. Even the National Institute for Mental Health 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:39.920 defines the condition as quote a mood disorder that can 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:44.280 affect women after childbirth. Yet a twenty ten studies shows 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.560 that somewhere around ten percent of dads and in the 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:51.280 three to six month period after birth experienced postpartum depression. 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.160 Eddie's research sites another study that says that between twenty 0:01:55.160 --> 0:01:57.680 four and fifty percent of men whose partners have postpartum 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.880 depression also experience it, and of course, as with any 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:05.560 serious depression, it can impact all aspects of men's lives, 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:08.880 their work, friendships, and relationship with their partner and children. 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:14.160 With the stigma that surrounds paternal postpartum depression, the idea 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:16.720 that it's for women only. Men don't get it. You 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:18.760 didn't carry a baby for nine months. Just suck it 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:21.760 up and be strong. Finding men willing to talk openly 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:24.600 about their depression was not going to be easy, so 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:26.720 Eddie and his fellow researchers went to a source where 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:29.720 anonymity rules and fathers felt free to speak their mind, 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:34.359 the Internet. After conducting searches for phrases like depression and 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:37.880 new fathers, Eddie and his co authors scoured chatboards, blogs, 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.519 and other forums like Reddit to pull information from twenty 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.359 seven new dads. Eddie said, no one knows who they are, 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:46.880 so there's not the same sense of shame. It's not 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:50.079 like all eyeballs are upon you. So sometimes that makes 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.880 it a lot easier to share their experiences. These people 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:54.680 were in a safe place where they were able to 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:59.200 express themselves. Eddie's research uncovered six main themes from those 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:04.120 online comments. First, father's need education. It became clear that 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:05.840 although they may not have known what to call it, 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:10.480 many of the commenters were living with paternal postpartum depression. Second, 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:14.919 men experiencing postpartum depression were anxious about adhering to gender expectations. 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:18.040 One commenter said, I wanted to cry and give up 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.440 being a father, but I was afraid to acknowledge those 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.120 thoughts and feelings in myself. It wasn't becoming of a 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:27.160 man and father to feel those things. Third, the fathers 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:30.960 were repressing their feelings. For example, one said she's with 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:32.920 the kids all day every day, and I'm home to 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:36.920 help for six hours and can't handle it. Fourth, the 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:40.240 men felt overwhelmed. One said I have the feeling that 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:44.320 I'm constantly on the edge of bursting into tears. Fifth, 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.480 their own negative feelings led to some resentment of their babies. 0:03:48.000 --> 0:03:50.880 One said baby cries can unearth some darkness in me 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:56.800 I've found. And six, the fathers themselves felt neglected. One 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.240 said I blamed both my wife and my son for 0:03:59.320 --> 0:04:02.160 my feelings of loss and insignificance. My wife seemed to 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:06.560 consider me selfish and irresponsible. These were the common threads, 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:09.360 and although of course it sucks to have these feelings, 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:13.760 they're completely valid. These feelings are real, recognized by scientists. 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.040 And caused. Some experts believe at least impart by chemical 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:20.280 changes in men's bodies. Postpartum depression and women has been 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:22.599 tied to a dip in the hormone estrogen. But women 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:26.280 aren't alone in dealing with falling hormone levels. Men experience 0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:29.080 a drop in testosterone from early to late pregnancy, and 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:33.680 that's been linked to depression too. Most importantly, fathers need 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.000 to know that help is available. A talk with a 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:39.400 help practitioner maybe the first step towards shaking postpartum depression. 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:42.760 If seeing a psychologist is intimidating, a family doctor can 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:45.479 help you reach a diagnosis, prescribe medications that may help, 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:47.560 and put you in touch with a mental health practitioner 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:51.039 that you'd be comfortable with. Eddie said, the sooner you 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:53.080 get help, the better. If you put this off, you're 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:55.400 going to have more distance grow between you and your partner, 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:57.800 You're going to isolate yourself, and you're going to put 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:00.760 yourself in a bad situation. So seeking out help as 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:02.919 soon as you recognize something is off is really the 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:04.760 way to go and the way to limit how much 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:12.719 it impacts you and your family. Today's episode was written 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:15.479 by John Donovan and produced by Tyler Clain. Brain Stuff 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.599 is a production of I Heartmedia's How Stuff Works. For 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:19.520 more on this and lots of other mental health topics, 0:05:19.600 --> 0:05:22.240 visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com. And 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:24.719 for more podcasts. For my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:27.440 Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:28.120 favorite shows.