It's official – dads get the baby blues too, a new study has found.
Researchers for the Medical Research Council have discovered that more than one in five men suffer from depression after having a baby.
They studied almost 87,000 families over a period of 14 years to identify those who had been diagnosed with depression or prescribed antidepressants.
The findings showed that, while women were far more likely to suffer than men, with 39 per cent suffering from at least one bout of depression by the time their child is 12, dads showed significant tendencies too.
Twenty-one per cent of the men in the sudy had suffered depression by the time their child had reached 12.
Patterns of depression vary substantially between sexes. Three per cent of dads get depression during the first year, compared with 13 per cent of mums.
The MRC concluded that parental depression is caused by the extra responsibilities that come with having children, with lack of sleep proving a big factor.
The researchers hope the findings will raise awareness of the stresses and potential problems faced by dads and dads-to-be, and increase support for both mums and dads.
What do you think of this study?
Do you or your partner have experience of post natal depression?