Becoming a mother is a profound and challenging experience involving physical, social, emotional, hormonal and psychological changes. We know that good support from a strong social network can help a mother to manage the challenges of motherhood and thrive in her new role.
If you are in a relationship, you will be sharing a lot of these new experiences with your partner. This may be the father or co-parent, if you are in a same-sex relationship, of your child.
Becoming a parent is a major life change, your partner will also be entering into an unfamiliar and exciting time in their life, and will likely face many of the challenges that new mothers experience. They will have disrupted sleep, questions and worries about the wellbeing of their child, less time for themselves, their intimate relationship or social life, and increased pressure as they transition into this new responsibility-filled role.
All of this can have an impact on mental health, and many of the factors that increase a woman's risk of experiencing postnatal depression also increase a father's or partner's risk of experiencing depression after the birth. In fact, one study that focused on fathers, not same sex partners, showed that approximately 10% of fathers experience depression and 20% experience anxiety in the postpartum period (Edward et al., 2015).
Despite research showing that partners experience depression and anxiety at rates similar to those in mothers, there are few resources available from social or healthcare systems, to offer advice, guidance and support to partners.
It is just as important for partners as new parents to receive social and emotional support, and the advice for partners in seeking help for themselves is similar to the advice offered for mothers. Encourage your partner to:
Below are some resources you might like to share with your partner where they can find information and support.
