Study: 1 in 10 New Fathers Depressed

Postpartum depression can affect fathers, too, a new study has found. Researchers combined the data from 43 studies to reach this conclusion. They estimated that about 10% of fathers become depressed just before or after the birth of a child. This is about twice the rate for the overall male population. Depression occurred most often about 3 to 6 months after the birth. Fathers were more likely to be depressed if the mothers were depressed, too. Depressed dads were more common in the United States (14%) than in other countries studied (8%). The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study. Reuters Health news service wrote about it May 18.