It was a light week, but a lot of articles on depression and anxiety in expectant and postpartum fathers.  Perinatal anxiety and depression are less common in men as compared to women but still a significant concern, especially because the father’s mental health issues may coincide with and exacerbate maternal depression and anxiety.

Ruta Nonacs, MD PhD

 


Paternal Depression Symptoms During Pregnancy and After Childbirth Among Participants in the Growing Up in New Zealand Study.

Underwood L, Waldie KE, Peterson E, D’Souza S, Verbiest M, McDaid F, Morton S. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017 Feb 15.

Expectant fathers were at risk (2.3%) of depressive symptoms during pregnancy if they felt stressed or were in poor health. Depressive symptoms were more common during the postpartum period (4.3%) and were associated with adverse social and relationship factors.


Fathers’ views and experiences of their own mental health during pregnancy and the first postnatal year: a qualitative interview study of men participating in the UK Born and Bred in Yorkshire (BaBY) cohort.

Darwin Z, Galdas P, Hinchliff S, Littlewood E, McMillan D, McGowan L, Gilbody S; Born and Bred in Yorkshire (BaBY) team. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2017 Jan 26;17(1):45.

Fathers experience psychological distress in the perinatal period but question the legitimacy of their experiences.


The Effect of Lifestyle Based Education on the Fathers‘ Anxiety and Depression During Pregnancy and Postpartum Periods: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Charandabi SM, Mirghafourvand M, Sanaati F. Community Ment Health J. 2017 Feb 14.


Sex differences in depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Sundström Poromaa I, Comasco E, Georgakis MK, Skalkidou A. J Neurosci Res. 2017 Jan 2;95(1-2):719-730. Review.  Free Article


Prenatal parental depression and preterm birth: a national cohort study.

Liu C, Cnattingius S, Bergström M, Östberg V, Hjern A. BJOG. 2016 Nov;123(12):1973-1982. Free Article

New paternal prenatal depression was associated with very preterm birth [adjusted OR (aOR) 1.38, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.04-1.83], whereas recurrent paternal depression was not associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. Both new and recurrent maternal prenatal depression were associated with an increased risk of moderately preterm birth (aOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.22-1.46, and aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.32-1.53, respectively).


Maternal and paternal sleep during pregnancy in the Child-sleep birth cohort.

Juulia Paavonen E, Saarenpää-Heikkilä O, Pölkki P, Kylliäinen A, Porkka-Heiskanen T, Paunio T.  Sleep Med. 2017 Jan;29:47-56.

Symptoms of insomnia were more prevalent among women than among men (9.8% vs. 6.2%), whereas sleep debt was less prevalent among women than among men (4.5% vs. 9.6%). Overall, 11.8% of the women and 14.9% of the men reported either significant insomnia or short sleep. Symptoms of insomnia were related to symptoms of depression both among women and men (AOR 3.8, 95% CI 2.6-5.6 vs. AOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.2), while short sleep was related to depression among women (AOR 3.3, 95% CI 1.8-5.8).


Effects of prenatal childbirth education for partners of pregnant women on paternal postnatal mental health and couple relationship: A systematic review.

Suto M, Takehara K, Yamane Y, Ota E.  J Affect Disord. 2017 Mar 1;210:115-121.

 

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