Postpartum Paternal Depression: Its Impact on Family and Child Development

The postpartum period is when parents undergo great changes and gain new responsibilities. Factors such as the changes that come with having a baby, not meeting the expectations about parenthood, having a child with a difficult temperament or health problems, or relational problems can be quite challenging in this period. These problems can deeply affect the psychological well-being of the parents. Although studies on depressive symptoms of mothers during pregnancy and postpartum are at an important level, studies aiming to examine the psychological state of fathers for the same period are still limited. However, perceptions that postpartum depression develops due to hormonal changes during pregnancy have been reshaped by the findings that this situation may also develop due to psychosocial factors. Relatedly, the number of studies on postpartum depression experienced by fathers has increased over time. Results of those studies show that fathers' psychological state also influences their parenting and the development of children. Fathers may experience paternal depression due to a lack of social support, economic conditions, relationship dynamics, and changing living conditions in the postpartum period. This situation may cause fathers to avoid parenting duties, spend less time with their children, be unable to cooperate with the mother, and have anger problems or deterioration in the relationship with the mother. The effects of depression on individuals' parenting styles negatively affect child-parent attachment and may cause children to develop emotional and behavioral problems. Therefore, it is very important to examine fathers' psychological state for children's development and the healthy progress of family dynamics. This review aims to address the effect of paternal depression on parenting and child development.