Postpartum depression is not “normal.”It is not the rude adjustment of having a tiny creature upend your life.

Bewilderment and fatigue are normal. This study is about a mental health problem which, apparently, has been in plain sight for a long time but no one was looking.

Postpartum depression can be a serious illness which should be treated as quickly as possible.

New parents who feel overwhelmed should question their doctors to see if their reactions are typical or more than that. This study should make males feel as if it is acceptable to bring this subject up—not an easy thing for a new father to do.

No new baby benefits from either or both parents suffering from this diagnosis.

Talk to your doctor if you are not coping as you thought you would.

Los Angeles Times

“They might relish becoming parents, but they can also be unprepared for the infant in their lives. They’re sleep-deprived, confused and irritable. They’re the fathers.

“Discussions of the connection between mental health and childbirth have long focused on women, but a sizeable portion of men experience prenatal and postpartum depression too, according to research released Tuesday.

“The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., found that 10.4% of men experienced serious depression at some point between his partner’s first trimester and one year after childbirth, more than double the depression rate for men in general. American men were more likely to experience prenatal or postpartum depression compared with men in other countries, 14.1% in the U.S. compared with 8.2% internationally.” (Emphasis added)

Source:  Los Angeles Times, May 19, 2010

Citation: JAMA. 2010;303(19):1961-1969.