Dear Dr. Touchstone,
This weekend I was reading The NY Times and I came across an article titled, Can Fathers Have Postpartum Depression, by Douglas Quenqua. In it, the author discusses that new fathers experience postpartum depression in a different way compared to new mothers. He states that even though new mothers are more likely to have postpartum depression than new fathers, new mothers tend to get more and better help than new fathers. The society creates a stigma that men do not get depressed which causes men less likely to confront the postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a result of low levels in testosterone as well as fluctuations in other hormones like estradiol and prolactin in men. Along with the changes in hormones, there are sleep deprivation and stress that help contribute a father going into postpartum depression. To support his story, Mr. Quenqua refers to research conducted at University of Southern California. I investigated the research myself and read the original source.
Researchers Saxbe, Schetter, Simon, Adam & Shalowitz published the article; High paternal testosterone may protect against postpartum depressive symptoms in fathers, but confer risk to mothers and children, in an issue of Hormone and Behavior (2017). The authors conducted a study with 149 low income parent couples who have infants that were approximately nine months old and both parents reported on postpartum depressive symptoms at 2,9, and 15 months postpartum. - participants The participants consisted of 149 low-income, diverse fathers. Accounting for both mothers and fathers, 38% of mothers and 30% of fathers reported their household income to be below the federal poverty line. - methods Both mothers and fathers participated in the three study visits within the first 18 months postpartum. First visit, the infant is on average two months. The second visit, the infant on average is nine months. The third visit, the infant on average is 15 months. The visits were in person at the participants’ home. During the second visit, fathers sampled saliva upon waking, 30 minutes after waking, and bedtime during a day scheduled within 10 days of the study visit. These saliva samples tested for testosterone levels. To measure postpartum depression, the study used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale with scores ranging from 0 to 30. The study used Dyadic Adjustment Scale to measure relationship satisfaction. The study used Parenting Stress Index Short Form to measure parenting stress. The study used HITS to measure intimate partner aggression and the mothers took the test. …show more content…
Quenqua missed a major opportunity in letting the readers know that high testosterone levels in fathers could indirectly affect depression through social and behavioral factors. This is important especially when fathers think they might be depressed but rule it out or will not want to talk about it because they have high levels of testosterone. After reading this article, parents assume that high levels of testosterone in fathers mean they are safe from depression. The article mentions how high levels of testosterones in new fathers can protect them against depression, yet it did not mention that high levels could also indirectly affect depression. The article did talk about how high levels in testosterone in new fathers can increase the risk of depression for new mothers. This shows that high levels of testosterone in fathers can indirectly affect mother’s
This weekend I was reading The NY Times and I came across an article titled, Can Fathers Have Postpartum Depression, by Douglas Quenqua. In it, the author discusses that new fathers experience postpartum depression in a different way compared to new mothers. He states that even though new mothers are more likely to have postpartum depression than new fathers, new mothers tend to get more and better help than new fathers. The society creates a stigma that men do not get depressed which causes men less likely to confront the postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a result of low levels in testosterone as well as fluctuations in other hormones like estradiol and prolactin in men. Along with the changes in hormones, there are sleep deprivation and stress that help contribute a father going into postpartum depression. To support his story, Mr. Quenqua refers to research conducted at University of Southern California. I investigated the research myself and read the original source.
Researchers Saxbe, Schetter, Simon, Adam & Shalowitz published the article; High paternal testosterone may protect against postpartum depressive symptoms in fathers, but confer risk to mothers and children, in an issue of Hormone and Behavior (2017). The authors conducted a study with 149 low income parent couples who have infants that were approximately nine months old and both parents reported on postpartum depressive symptoms at 2,9, and 15 months postpartum. - participants The participants consisted of 149 low-income, diverse fathers. Accounting for both mothers and fathers, 38% of mothers and 30% of fathers reported their household income to be below the federal poverty line. - methods Both mothers and fathers participated in the three study visits within the first 18 months postpartum. First visit, the infant is on average two months. The second visit, the infant on average is nine months. The third visit, the infant on average is 15 months. The visits were in person at the participants’ home. During the second visit, fathers sampled saliva upon waking, 30 minutes after waking, and bedtime during a day scheduled within 10 days of the study visit. These saliva samples tested for testosterone levels. To measure postpartum depression, the study used the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale with scores ranging from 0 to 30. The study used Dyadic Adjustment Scale to measure relationship satisfaction. The study used Parenting Stress Index Short Form to measure parenting stress. The study used HITS to measure intimate partner aggression and the mothers took the test. …show more content…
Quenqua missed a major opportunity in letting the readers know that high testosterone levels in fathers could indirectly affect depression through social and behavioral factors. This is important especially when fathers think they might be depressed but rule it out or will not want to talk about it because they have high levels of testosterone. After reading this article, parents assume that high levels of testosterone in fathers mean they are safe from depression. The article mentions how high levels of testosterones in new fathers can protect them against depression, yet it did not mention that high levels could also indirectly affect depression. The article did talk about how high levels in testosterone in new fathers can increase the risk of depression for new mothers. This shows that high levels of testosterone in fathers can indirectly affect mother’s