Do men suffer from postpartum depression too?

As I read up on male postpartum depression I wonder too if that is something else I did not know about when I was pregnant. Again, as stated in this article, all the father could find was “how to guides.” That is how I felt as a first time mother as well. All the books I had read told me “what to expect” or “how to” but none of them told me how tired I would feel, possibly overwhelmed, or maybe even suffer from postpartum depression. I had no idea postpartum depression could hit me in the way that it did. So, if as a woman I did not know that postpartum depression could take over my life, just wonder how the men feel when they are hit with it.
With that note, I would love to hear from the men out there and know about your experiences!

Dads Suffer Postpartum Depression, Too
June 10, 2009 06:00 PM
by Cara McDonough

Mothers are often warned about depression following the birth of a new baby, but what about fathers? Is male postpartum depression actually on the rise? Fathers May Have a Hard Time Adjusting to BabyWhen Nick Duerden’s daughter was born, joy wasn’t his first emotion.
Instead, he wandered down the hospital hallway, burst into tears and realized he had “one overriding sensation: that I was entirely unprepared for this, and that I had no idea what would happen next.”
Duerden talks about his experience with “paternal postnatal depression” in the Daily Telegraph, and also in his book, “The Reluctant Fathers’ Club,” but it’s a subject untouched by most men. He writes that when his girlfriend was pregnant, he “scoured” bookshops for memoirs that were “frank about fatherhood.” But all he found were “‘How To…’ guides often filled with jokes about beer and breast milk.”Learn more about depression and anxiety, including risk factors, symptoms and treatment options, with the findingDulcinea Web Guide to Anxiety and Depression.Lately, however, a few good choices have surfaced, writes Duerden, including Ben George’s “The Book of Dads,” and “Tales From the Dad Side: Misadventures in Fatherhood” by Steve Doocy. Duerden believes the books are overdue, and there’s a real need for such information. He cited statistics from Britain’s Parentline Plus, a 24/7 parental help phone line, that just 16 percent of their calls came from men, showing that men usually don’t look for help, but just deal with problems themselves.
But is postpartum depression for men real? Yes, says a study cited by CNN in October 2008. According to the article, every day, 1,000 new dads become depressed in the United States. Some studies say the number could be as high as 3,000.
Will Courtenay, a psychotherapist and founder of PostpartumMen.com (formerly Saddaddy.com), a site for men experiencing postpartum depression, hears from many men experiencing severe signs of depression. “They can’t stand to be around their baby…they can’t stand the smell or the sound of their child screaming,” he said to CNN.
He said shifting male hormones may play a role, and that the signs of full-fledged depression can include a feeling of worthlessness, sadness and a lack of interest in hobbies or sex.
In an April interview with Newsweek, Courtenay said that a big factor in the condition is whether a man’s partner is depressed. “Half of all men whose partners have postpartum depression are depressed themselves,” Courtenay said.

please visit www.alphainventions.com or www.condron.us to visit blogs in realtime.