One in 10 New Dads Suffers Depression, JAMA Says
Posted on 18. May, 2010 by Brian Reid.
The big news in fatherhood today is a new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that estimates that about one in 10 new fathers suffers from depression in the first year after the birth of a child. For comparison’s sake, about 4.8 percent of men are depressed during a given year. So guys are at double the risk of depression in the postpartum period. That’s a big deal.
There are some other interesting nuggets in the findings. The risk appears to peak for guys between 3 and 6 months after birth, with the first 12 weeks being the lowest risk period of the first year. (This, in a country in which a 12-week maternity leave is the standard. Hmmmmm.) And U.S. dads appear to be more likely to suffer postpartum depression than dads in other countries.
The research that led to the 10 percent number (more specifically, 10.4 percent) was from a mashup of 43 smaller studies that tracked more than 28,000 guys, led by James F. Paulson of the Eastern Virginia Medical School. These kind of studies, known as meta-analyses, aren’t considered gold standard research, but they generally do a decent job of identifying patterns that might not emerge in smaller studies and suggesting future avenues of research. Even in this case, the researchers went out of their way to warn that the lousy data “suggests cautious interpretation.”
So while the 10 percent number shouldn’t be set in stone, it should serve as a giant kick in the ass to the research community that the issue of depression in new dads deserves from serious scrutiny, and the sooner the better. (This is taking nothing away from the incredibly serious issue of postpartum depression in moms, which could also stand a more thorough analysis.) Are the biological factors driving this? After all, we know that hormones in men (including testosterone) go nutty around childbirth. What are the social factors that are involved? What’s protective?
There are lots of questions still unanswered … the JAMA review couldn’t even take a stab at whether family size or age of the father had any impact on risk, simply because high-quality data doesn’t exist.
I’ll update this post with some of the better reporting on the study to help fill in holes. And — of course — I’m curious to hear anecdotes from any of you that may have experiences this firsthand.
UPDATE #1: The early coverage has emphasized a couple of pieces of information worth sharing. MedPageToday noted that depression in one parent is a modest risk factor for depression in the other parent. Bloomberg News, in additional to talking about the topline findings, also mentioned that Paulson just got half a million dollars to continue his study of depression in new parents. There has also been coverage on Good Morning America, but the journalism was shoddy: they did their spot *before* the research came out and so didn’t talk about the findings specifically. It’s a worthwhile human interest story, though.
UPDATE #2: The LA Times says we should get extra shut-eye, quoting Will Courtenay, a psychotherapist in Berkeley not involved with the research: “Sleep deprivation likely plays one of the biggest roles for men and women.” US News & World Report takes a news-you-can-use approach, telling dads what they can do. The big tip: seek help.
HuffPo runs a first-person account from Joel Schwartzberg, who puts it eloquently: “I hope this can be a starting point for discussion of the unique pressures sudden fathers feel. At the end of the day — and days are never longer than when you’re a new parent — “manning up” should include expressing feelings of vulnerability, depression, and personal need, not just burying them. In my experience, that’s the only hope of truly overcoming.”
USA Today has a provocative headline, suggesting that the rate of postpartum depression is as high in men as it is in women. I’m going to have to check the study, but I think that’s an apples-to-oranges comparison.
UPDATE #3: If you think that guys are making progressing shattering ’50s-era stereotypes, I should let you know that there are miles to go before we sleep: just read the throwback comments to the WSJ coverage of this topic.
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VH1′s Boot Camp for Dads: Dad Camp
Posted on 17. May, 2010 by Brian Reid.
File this under “not-entirely-sure-what-to-make-of-it”: later this month, VH1 is slated to premier a new reality show called Dad Camp. Here’s how VH1 sets it up:
VH1 DAD CAMP is a docureality show that attempts to transform 6 irresponsible soon-to-be dads into respectable fathers.
Each couple at VH1 DAD CAMP has a major dilemma: she’s pregnant… but he’s not ready or willing to accept the duties of fatherhood. Dealing with guys who drink, smoke, and don’t have jobs (but do have anger issues), VH1 Dad Camp takes on one of our nations greatest concerns. In June 2009, father of two Barack Obama issued a call to the nation’s dads to “step up” and take responsibility…VH1, 3 Ball Productions, and Dr. Jeff Gardere have answered the call.
I am all for anyone who helps fathers recognize what it takes to be a good dad. I’m all for anything that gives good parenting tools to viewers. And I’m all for the idea that it’s important — for dads themselves, for moms, for kids — when fathers are involved in family life.
What I worry about is that fatherhood will be made out to be harder or more complicated than it actually is. Now, if you have drug or alcohol problems, if your finances are in trouble, if you don’t have a good relationship with the child’s mother, if you have anger management issues, then — yes — you’re going to have problems being an active parent. But it’s not the parenting that is the problem. It’s the drugs/alcohol/anger/interpersonal issues that are the problem. I’m hoping that the series makes that clear.
If not, I’ll take a pass and just watch Intervention.
(An aside: I found the show after Googling around looking for information about DadCamp, a thoughtful group blog that’s worth reading.)
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Odds and Ends (and Ole Miss)
Posted on 16. May, 2010 by Brian Reid.
Plenty of stuff fell through the cracks while I was obsessing over diapers over the past week. Among the items:
- My fears that the newest prime time at-home dad (Parenthood’s Joel) was going to launch an explosion of silly stories about how dads are the new crush objects seems to have been premature. Instead, according to the always-reliable Mike Adamick in the San Francisco Chronicle’s “The Poop” blog, he is “the king of the play date, the craft project and the Band-Aid.” I can live with that.
- Just a reminder that you’ve now missed the chance to get a discount on pre-orders on the Evolution of Dad documentary. Order it anyway. It starts shipping this week. I’ll have a review up later this week.
- The fine folks at Target are buying Google search ads against the term “rebel dad,” which I find kind of flattering. What are they selling? A University of Mississippi Rebels Tailgate Party Pack. So for all of you at-home dads who happen to also be fans of the reigning Cotton Bowl champions, has Target got a salsa for you!
- On Thursday, May 27, the NYC Dads Group is putting on a parenting discussion at the 92nd Street Y. It’ll be moderated by the New York Times’ Lisa Belkin and include the Vachons (of Equally Shared Parenting fame). Good stuff. Check out the details and grab a sitter.