Stress and poor health were associated with increased risk of depression for expectant fathers during their partner's pregnancy, New Zealand researchers found.
Writing in JAMA Psychiatry, the authors found a twofold increased risk of antenatal paternal depression symptoms if fathers were in fair to poor health during the pregnancy and a 38% increased risk associated with "perceived stress."
Fair to poor health 9 months after childbirth was also linked with a more than threefold risk of postnatal paternal depression. And when dads were no longer in a relationship with the mother, they faced more than a sixfold increase in risk.
Researchers interviewed 3,523 men both during and after their partner's pregnancy. They concluded that interventions to target fathers at increased risk of depression would be beneficial for families.