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

The transition to parenthood is considered to be a major life transition that can increase the vulnerability to parental depressive disorders, including paternal perinatal depression (PPND). Although it is known that many fathers experience anxiety and depression during the perinatal period, PPND is a recent diagnostic entity and there are not enough published studies on it. Accordingly, its prevalence and epidemiology are still not well defined, although the majority of studies agree that PPND is less frequent than maternal perinatal depression and postpartum depression. Nevertheless, PPND is different from maternal perinatal mental health disorders, usually, fathers have less severe symptoms, and mood alterations are often in comorbidity with other affective disorders. Despite the absence of DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and the fluctuation of prevalence rates, clinical symptoms have been defined. The main symptoms are mood alterations and anxiety, followed by behavioral disturbances and concerns about the progress of pregnancy and the child’s health. Moreover, PPND negatively impacts on family functioning, on couples’ relationships, and on family members’ well-being. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the current understandings on PPND and the potential screening, prevention, and treatment options.

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Perinatal depression screening using smartphone technology: Exploring uptake, engagement and future directions for the MGH Perinatal Depression Scale (MGHPDS)

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0257065 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. e0257065

Author(s):

Rachel Vanderkruik ◽

Edwin Raffi ◽

Marlene P. Freeman ◽

Rebecca Wales ◽

Lee Cohen

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Perinatal Depression ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Perinatal Period ◽

Health Impact ◽

Depression Score ◽

Future Research ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Longitudinal Data Collection

Women may experience new-onset or worsening depressive disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum. If untreated, there may be detrimental consequences to the health and wellbeing of the woman and to her baby. There is a need for improved tools and approaches that can be easily and broadly implemented to effectively detect depression during the perinatal period. Early identification of depression during pregnancy is an important first step towards connecting women to treatment and preventing continued depression into the postpartum or beyond. This report provides preliminary findings from a pilot study of a digital screening app for perinatal depression expiring potential for app reach, engagement, and user demographics and mental health symptoms. With mainly passive recruitment efforts, we collected cross-sectional mental health data on over 700 women during the perinatal period, including women across over 30 countries. We report on mean depression scores among women during pregnancy and the postpartum as well as on constructs that are commonly comorbid with depression, including anxiety, sleep dysregulation, and perceived stress. Over half of the women during pregnancy and over 70% of women in the postpartum had a depression score indicative of clinical depression. Future research directions for this work and potential for public health impact are discussed, including longitudinal data collection and analyses of symptomology over time and embedding evidence-based digital therapeutics into the app as a means to increase access to mental health services.

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Effectiveness of a Technology-Based Supportive Educational Parenting Program on Parental Outcomes in Singapore: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.8062 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Shefaly Shorey ◽

Yvonne Peng Mei Ng ◽

An Ling Siew ◽

Joanne Yoong ◽

Evalotte M�relius

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Well Being ◽

Perinatal Period ◽

Educational Programs ◽

Parenting Program ◽

Randomized Controlled

BACKGROUND Supportive educational programs during the perinatal period are scarce in Singapore. There is no continuity of care available in terms of support from community care nurses in Singapore. Parents are left on their own most of the time, which results in a stressful transition to parenthood. There is a need for easily accessible technology-based educational programs that can support parents during this crucial perinatal period. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe the study protocol of a randomized controlled trial on a technology-based supportive educational parenting program. METHODS A randomized controlled two-group pretest and repeated posttest experimental design will be used. The study will recruit 118 parents (59 couples) from the antenatal clinics of a tertiary public hospital in Singapore. Eligible parents will be randomly allocated to receive either the supportive educational parenting program or routine perinatal care from the hospital. Outcome measures include parenting self-efficacy, parental bonding, postnatal depression, social support, parenting satisfaction, and cost evaluation. Data will be collected at the antenatal period, immediate postnatal period, and at 1 month and 3 months post childbirth. RESULTS Recruitment of the study participants commenced in December 2016 and is still ongoing. Data collection is projected to finish within 12 months, by December 2017. CONCLUSIONS This study will identify a potentially clinically useful, effective, and cost-effective supportive educational parenting program to improve parental self-efficacy and bonding in newborn care, which will then improve parents’ social support–seeking behaviors, emotional well-being, and satisfaction with parenting. It is hoped that better supported and satisfied parents will consider having more children, which may in turn influence Singapore’s ailing birth rate. CLINICALTRIAL International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 48536064; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN48536064 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6wMuEysiO)

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Valuing time over money predicts happiness after a major life transition: A preregistered longitudinal study of graduating students

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aax2615 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (9) ◽

pp. eaax2615 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ashley Whillans ◽

Lucía Macchia ◽

Elizabeth Dunn

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

University Students ◽

Alternative Model ◽

Well Being ◽

Life Transition ◽

Major Life ◽

Consumer Choices ◽

Life Decisions ◽

Graduating Students

How does prioritizing time or money shape major life decisions and subsequent well-being? In a preregistered longitudinal study of approximately 1000 graduating university students, respondents who valued time over money chose more intrinsically rewarding activities and were happier 1 year after graduation. These results remained significant controlling for baseline happiness and potential confounds, such as materialism and socioeconomic status, and when using alternative model specifications. These findings extend previous research by showing that the tendency to value time over money is predictive not only of daily consumer choices but also of major life decisions. In addition, this research uncovers a previously unidentified mechanism—the pursuit of intrinsically motivated activities—that underlies the previously observed association between valuing time and happiness. This work sheds new light on whether, when, and how valuing time shapes happiness.

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Active Interest Mentorship for Soon-to-Retire People: A Self-Sustaining Retirement Preparation Program

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/0733464816687448 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 344-364

Author(s):

Siu-man Ng ◽

Lingli Leng ◽

Qi Wang

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Life Transition ◽

Preparation Program ◽

Major Life ◽

Retirement Preparation ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Positive Entry ◽

Active Interest ◽

General Improvement ◽

Better Than

Retirement is a major life transition that often leads to maladjustments and mental health hazards. In this study, we developed an innovative retirement preparation program, the Active Interest Mentorship Scheme (AIMS), which utilized active interest development as a positive entry point through which to engage soon-to-retire people. Each retiree received a 1-year mentorship 6 months before retirement. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, the study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the AIMS in protecting retirees’ well-being. The well-being status of 161 retirees was assessed at 4-month intervals. Measures included self-esteem, life satisfaction, positive affect, depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Serial trend analysis revealed a general improvement in well-being at 4 months after mentorship, followed by a mark reversion in some variables at 2 months after retirement. Upon completion of the program, participants generally returned to a level of well-being that was comparable with or better than preretirement levels. The first 2 months after retirement appeared to be the most distressing. The findings support the efficacy, as well as feasibility of the innovative retirement preparation program.

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Personality, Communication, and Depressive Symptoms across the Transition to Parenthood: A Dyadic Longitudinal Investigation

European Journal of Personality ◽

10.1002/per.1980 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 216-234 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Emma M. Marshall ◽

Jeffry A. Simpson ◽

W. Steven Rholes

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Well Being ◽

Life Transitions ◽

Major Life ◽

Personality Psychology ◽

First Child ◽

The Relationship ◽

Major Life Transitions

This study adopted a person (actor) by partner perspective to examine how actor personality traits, partner personality traits, and specific actor by partner personality trait interactions predict actor's depressive symptoms across the first 2 years of the transition to parenthood. Data were collected from a large sample of new parents (both partners in each couple) 6 weeks before the birth of their first child, and then at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months postpartum. The results revealed that higher actor neuroticism and lower partner agreeableness predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms in actors. Moreover, the specific combination of high actor neuroticism and low partner agreeableness was a particularly problematic combination, which was intensified when prepartum dysfunctional problem–solving communication and aggression existed in the relationship. These results demonstrate the importance of considering certain actor by partner disposition pairings to better understand actors’ emotional well–being during major life transitions. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology

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Maternal Mental Illness and Early Parenting Interventions

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.062 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S64-S64

Author(s):

A.L. Sutter-Dallay

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Stressful Life Event ◽

Perinatal Care ◽

Critical Time ◽

Well Being ◽

Perinatal Period ◽

Transitional Period ◽

Perinatal Mental Health ◽

Competing Interest

The importance of the “1001 critical days” (conception to age 2) underlies the need to act early in life to enhance children's developmental outcomes. Lack of intervention is likely to affect the children of today but also the generations to come. For adults, transition to parenthood is a major stressful life event. The strong emotional load of this experience can make this transitional period much more challenging for adults with psychological, social and economic vulnerabilities, and lead to unadjusted interactions.Then, applying the “transactional model of development” (Sameroff, 2009) to the early perinatal period helps us to understand how the needs of infants can easily affect a parent's mental state and induce inadequate parenting behaviors. These in turn make the infant's interactions more difficult and the infant's development more likely to be impaired. Perinatal mental health is thus an important public health challenge for it is essential to provide services to enhance maternal and infant emotional well-being at a moment that is simultaneously when the mother's social and emotional vulnerabilities are at their height and a critical time in the child's development.Perinatal mental health policies, including joint care of parents and infants, must provide positive support for the potential virtuous circle between the skills and vulnerabilities of the infant and the parents.This presentation will explore the different types of joined perinatal care for parents and infants that cover a range of services, from parent-infant psychotherapies to joint mother-baby hospitalizations.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

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Perinatal Depression, Birth Experience, Marital Satisfaction and Childcare Sharing: A Study in Russian Mothers

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18116086 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 6086

Author(s):

Vera Yakupova ◽

Liudmila Liutsko

Keyword(s):

Marital Satisfaction ◽

Postnatal Depression ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Perinatal Depression ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Prenatal Depression ◽

Birth Experience ◽

Birth Satisfaction

Background: Over 300,000 women in Russia face perinatal depressive disorders every year, according to the data for middle-income countries. This study is the first attempt to perform a two-phase study of perinatal depressive disorders in Russia. The paper examines risk factors for perinatal depressive symptoms, such as marital satisfaction, birth experience, and childcare sharing. Methods: At 15–40 gestational weeks (M = 30.7, SD = 6.6), 343 Russian-speaking women, with a mean age of 32 years (SD = 4.4), completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Couples Satisfaction Index, Birth Satisfaction Scale, and provided socio-demographic data. Two months after childbirth, 190 of them participated in the follow-up. Results: The follow-up indicated that 36.4% of participants suffered from prenatal depression and 34.3% of participants had postnatal depression. Significant predictors of prenatal depression were physical well-being during pregnancy (β = −0.25; p = 0.002) and marital satisfaction during pregnancy (β = −0.01; p = 0.018). Birth satisfaction (β = −0.08; p = 0.001), physical well-being at two months after delivery (β = −0.36; p < 0.01), and marital satisfaction during pregnancy (β = 0.01; p = 0.016) and after delivery (β = −0.02; p < 0.01) significantly predicted postnatal depression at 2 months after delivery. Conclusion: Our study identified that physical well-being during pregnancy and marital satisfaction during pregnancy significantly predicted prenatal depression. Birth satisfaction, physical well-being at 2 months after delivery, and marital satisfaction during pregnancy and after delivery significantly predicted postnatal depression. To our knowledge, this is the first study of perinatal depressive disorders in the context of marital satisfaction and birth satisfaction in the Russian sample. The problem of unequal childcare sharing is widely spread in Russia. Adjusting spousal expectations and making arrangements for childcare may become the focus of psychological work with the family. The availability of psychological support during pregnancy and labor may be important in the context of reducing perinatal depression risks.

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Transition to parenthood programmes

10.1093/med/9780198788850.003.0007 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jane Barlow

Keyword(s):

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Well Being ◽

Perinatal Period ◽

Developmental Period ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Life Chances ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Related Stress ◽

First Time

For first-time parents, the ‘transition to parenthood’ is a significant period, not only in terms of changes for the parents and the related stress that such changes may involve, but also in terms of the needs of the unborn/newborn baby. This reflects the fact that the perinatal period is now recognized to be a ‘sensitive’ developmental period in terms of the baby’s neurodevelopment and thereby a significant window of opportunity to equalize the life chances of all children. This chapter examines some of the key changes that can occur during the ‘transition to parenthood’ and the potential impact in terms of long-term well-being of the infant and child. Innovative and evidence-based methods of working to support the couple in the transition to parenthood are described, and the effectiveness of such programmes reviewed in terms of both parental and infant well-being.

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Making decisions in the management of perinatal depression and anxiety

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment ◽

10.1192/apt.bp.113.011866 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 175-183

Author(s):

Anne P. F. Wand

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Good Practice ◽

Perinatal Period ◽

List Type ◽

Risks And Benefits ◽

Mental Health Legislation ◽

Potential Risks ◽

Health Legislation

SummaryThe care of women with anxiety and depressive disorders in the perinatal period is complex. The literature in this field is vast and may be difficult for busy clinicians to keep abreast of. The first part of this article provides an overview of the potential risks and benefits of treatment options, including no treatment, at various stages in the perinatal period. The second part explores the frameworks which may assist clinicians in decision-making with their pregnant patients, including risk-benefit analysis, ethical considerations, evaluating capacity, and mental health legislation. The common pitfalls and limitations of these approaches are examined to guide good practice.LEARNING OBJECTIVES•Understand the potential risks and benefits of treating, or not treating, maternal mental illness at various stages in the perinatal period.•Understand the limitations of the literature in this field.•Be able to use different frameworks for deciding with patients about the management of mental illness in the perinatal period.

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Teenage Mothers in Yaoundé, Cameroon—Risk Factors and Prevalence of Perinatal Depression Symptoms

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10184164 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (18) ◽

pp. 4164

Author(s):

Laure Nicolet ◽

Amir Moayedoddin ◽

Joel Djatché Miafo ◽

Daniel Nzebou ◽

Beat Stoll ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorders ◽

Perinatal Depression ◽

Unplanned Pregnancy ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Perinatal Period ◽

Teenage Mothers ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Middle Income

Background: Perinatal depression is defined as a non-psychotic depressive episode occurring during pregnancy or during the first year following childbirth. This depressive disorder is highly prevalent among teenage women but there is a lack of data in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to provide baseline data on the sociodemographic characteristics of pregnant teenagers or teenage mothers in an urban zone in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Risk factors were assessed, and prevalence of depressive disorders was determined. Methods: Women aged 20 years old or less in the perinatal period were invited to participate in the study. A total of 1344 women participated in the four-stage data collection process involving a questionnaire including questions on sociodemographic background, an assessment of their risk of perinatal depression using the EPDS questionnaire (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), a clinical interview based on the DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), and a final section focusing on risk factors of perinatal depression. Results: The EPDS score was obtained for 1307 women. The prevalence of depressive disorder symptoms among teenage or young pregnant women is estimated to be 70.0%. This risk is significantly increased by different factors including unintended or unplanned pregnancy (aOR: 1.33, 1.14–1.56 CI95%), being separated or single (aOR: 1.34, 1.12–1.60 CI95%), experiencing depression and anxiety before childbirth (aOR: 1.50, 1.02–2.27 CI95%), abortion experience (aOR: 2.60, 1.03–7.14 CI95%) and domestic violence (aOR: 1.76, 1.12–2.83 CI95%). Conclusion: The results of this study reveal a high prevalence of depressive disorder symptoms within the study population. These findings highlight the need to develop maternal care programs to support both mothers and their infants.

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