There have been a number of articles in recent weeks regarding postnatal depression in men. One source (BBC News) mentions that around one in every ten men experience postnatal symptoms in the first six month of their baby being born.
As fathers are becoming more and more involved in the day to day looking after of their children, so we are seeing an increase in anxiety and stress levels. This can be exacerbated by the mother of the child potentially having post traumatic stress too, and there is a huge need for help during this lonely and difficult time in a parents life.
Luckily, there seems to be some light at the end of this tunnel, and this comes in the form of perinatal mental health support services run by the NHS. These services currently offer help to the mums, but with new and improved workings, they will shortly be reaching out to the dad’s too, offering peer-support groups, behavioural couples therapy sessions and other therapeutic mental health interventions. Hope springs eternal!