The course and interrelationship of maternal and paternal perinatal depression

Abstract

The aims of the study were to describe course of depression in both mothers and fathers from the third trimester of pregnancy through 6 months postpartum and to examine the relationship between maternal and paternal depression. Hypotheses were as follows: (a) Depressive symptoms would be correlated between parents and (b) earlier depressive symptoms in one parent would predict later increases in depression in the other. Eighty cohabitating primiparous couples were recruited from prenatal OBGYN visits and community agencies and enrolled during pregnancy, between 28-week gestation and delivery. Participants completed measures of depression on four occasions: baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months postpartum. Ninety-eight percent of the enrolled couples (78; 156 individuals) completed the study. For both mothers and fathers, symptom severity ratings and classification as a probable case were stable across time, with prenatal depression persisting through 6 months in 75 % of mothers and 86 % of fathers. Prenatal depression in fathers predicted worsening depressive symptom severity in mothers across the first six postpartum months but not vice versa. In both expecting/new mothers and fathers, depression demonstrates a stable pattern of occurrence and symptom severity between 28-month gestation and 6 months postpartum. Although prenatal maternal depression is not predictive of symptom change in fathers, mothers with prenatally depressed partners showed significant worsening in overall symptom severity during the first six postpartum months.

When Fathers Begin to Falter: A Comprehensive Review on Paternal Perinatal Depression

“…This extension of the time period acknowledges the evidence that rates of maternal depression are higher during pregnancy than during the postpartum period, and that the majority of cases of PPD are preceded by depression during pregnancy, as shown by longitudinal studies [7]. Moreover, most experts in the field have argued that the time of onset for the relevant symptoms in the postpartum period should be extended from six months to one year after delivery [8].…”

Engaging fathers: Acknowledging the barriers

“…The mental health of mothers and fathers is modestly correlated (Paulson and Bazemore 2010) and early paternal depressive symptoms predict worsening or continuing or maternal depressive symptoms (Paulson et al, 2016). Thus paternal mental health also warrants consideration and it should be noted that approximately 5-10% of fathers experience perinatal depression (Paulson and Bazemore, 2010) and approximately 5-15% experience perinatal anxiety (Leach et al, 2016).…”

Social Correlates of Paternal Postpartum Depression: A Statistical Analysis

“…So, while they found no predictive relationship in that direction, they did still find a significant interaction between maternal and paternal postpartum depression in terms of paternal postpartum depression worsening the severity of symptoms of maternal postpartum depression. They attribute these findings to their sample fathers returning to work relatively quickly, and therefore not being exposed to their partner's depressive symptoms frequently (Paulson et al 2016), which may hold true to families in my analytic sample where the majority are in lower income brackets and therefore may be unable to take extended leave from work.…”

“…There is a growing body of research on paternal postpartum depression that utilizes statistical analysis which has come to the similar conclusion that maternal postpartum depression is not a statistically significant predictor of paternal postpartum depression (Paulson et al 2016;Roubinov et al 2014;Top et al 2016) are not A more recent study that investigates the interaction of paternal and maternal postpartum depression through binary logistic regression, as I have employed, found that maternal depression does not predict paternal depression, but that for parents that both express depressive symptomology, mother's exposure to paternal postpartum depression did tend to worsen mother's depressive symptoms (Paulson et al 2016).…”

“…In turn, when fathers are more involved in the private sphere and, in turn, more involved in co-parenting, mothers perceive more fairness in the relationship (McClain & Brown 2017). Fathers tend to return to work earlier than mothers and may have more social contact that mitigates the risk of developing depressive symptoms via exposure to their partner's depression (Paulson et al 2016), however their relationship quality may suffer because of that distance. Based on my findings that relationship quality and relationship status between mothers and fathers are significantly related to the development of paternal depression, I argue that the movement toward more equal allocation of housework is a meaningful advance toward lessening strain on status and quality of relationships between mothers and fathers, especially during the heightened stresses of early parenthood and newborn childcare.…”