Prevalence of Parental Postnatal Depression in Fathers and Its Relationship with Demographic Characteristics

Background: Childbirth brings many changes to family and fathers who are at risk of depression.During this period, fathers face a lot of challenges and several new roles. Negative effects of paternal postpartum depression (PPND) affect arital/partner relationships, infant bonding, and child development. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of PPND and its relationship with some individual characteristics. Methods: This research is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The statistical population was all literate men whose wives had recently given birth to a child. The method of sampling was consecutive technique. A total of 328 men were recently become fathers. All samples completed the demographics questionnaire during their wives’ hospitalization after delivery. Then 8 weeks later, they completed Edinburgh questionnaire at home or hospital. Data were analyzed by Chisquare test (using SPSS software version 14). Results: The findings revealed that 59.8% of the fathers had postpartum depression, and depression rate was higher in the age range of 30-39 years (65.5%) (P=0.202). The depression was more in men who were low-educated (61.8%) and whose partners were housewives (59.4%). There is a significant correlation between men’s employment and depression (P=0.018). The depression was more in unemployed men; therefore, bad economic situation can be a reason for severe depression (65.5%). Conclusion: Considering high prevalence parental postpartum depression and its multifactorial nature, dealing with each effective factor can decrease the probability of parental postpartum depression. Also, its prompt diagnosis and treatment decreases the consequences of this problem in mother, infant, and family and improves family performance and quality of life.