Mental Health for Fathers
The birth of a child is considered by most people one of the most special events of a person’s life. Rightly so, mothers health both mental and physical is particularly focused on. However, what about the fathers? Do they need any help during this time? The answer to that is YES.
One and ten fathers experience some form of depression within six months of the birth of their child. This is a significant number however you look at it. With fathers being far more hands on when it comes to children than they would have been say twenty or thirty years ago. This poses new challenges for both the family unit and the National Health Service.
In my own experience as a practitioner I am seeing more and more fathers coming to me with unexplained anxiety and depression. The correlation is that these symptoms usually manifested themselves within months of the birth of a child. When one considers the importance of sleep in a person’s mental health it is little surprise that both mother and father may be suffering with mental health issues. As the first year of a child’s life is often marked with a lack of sleep for mother and father. Dad’s should not be afraid to seek help when it is needed, it is a great model for their newborn child.
