Study: Men experience prenatal, postpartum depression

LOS ANGELES - They might relish becoming parents, but they can be unprepared for the infant in their lives. They're sleep-deprived, confused and irritable. They're the fathers.

Studies of the connection between mental health and childbirth have long focused on women, but some men experience prenatal and postpartum depression too, according to research released yesterday.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 10.4 percent of men experienced serious depression at some point between his partner's first trimester and one year after childbirth, more than double the depression rate for men in general. U.S. men were more likely to experience such depression, 14.1 percent here compared with 8.2 percent internationally.

Depression in either parent can affect the relationship and the child's development, said James F. Paulson, lead author of the study. - Los Angeles Times