Fathers and their postpartum depression
October 15, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Women's Health
It does sound sort of odd, doesn’t it? Fathers and postpartum depression? (Postpartum depression can hit dads too)
What makes it sound odd is that PPD is caused by many things, including the hormones that affect women after delivery. But, according to SadDaddy.com, “Every day, over 1,000 new dads in the United States become depressed. And according to some studies, that number is as high as 2,700. That’s 1 in 10 to as many as 1 in 4 new dads who have postpartum depression.>
According to San Francisco, California-based psychotherapist and founder of Saddaddy.com, Will Courtenay, hormones affect men too after their partner delivers. Their testosterone (male hormone) goes down and their estrogen (female hormone) goes up, paving the way for postpartum depression.
You can learn more about male PPD at the SadDaddy.com site, where there is also an online forum for men to chat with others who may be experiencing the same thing.
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Tags: pregnancy blog, postpartum depression, PPD, men and postpartum depression, testosterone, estrogen
