Postnatal Mental Health of Fathers
I choose to learn about mental health in fathers since this is an issue that is not really publicized as much as it is for women. I am starting to see the publizied issue of the importance of having fathers be involved in their childs life form organizations such as Early Head Start, Head Start, and the Texas office of the Attorney General, but not on a fathers mental health. In a study that was conducted in Australia, 3000 fathers participated in research project that showed 1 in 10 fathers had high levels of distress within their first year after having a baby. This information was printed in an article called Postnatal Depression: It doesn't just affect women by Rebecca Giallo in the Asian Scientist: News and information from the Asian scientific community on September 10, 2012. This article talked about some of the causes men have mental health issues after the birth of a child such as: "low satisfaction in their relationship, low confidence in their parenting role, family income can drop due to one parent staying home for months to care for baby, and for men whose partners provided a higher portion of the household income, the pressure to provide financially for the family is particularly high with distress and worry." (Giallo,2012) The article goes on to discuss was in which men can seek help such as: talking with partner, doctor, family member or friend. The importance of fathers mental health on a developing child is just as important as the mothers to raising a mentally healthy child. The article stated that,"Previous research has shown that fathers’ with mental health distress is associated with difficulties in the couple relationship, parenting difficulties, and poorer well-being outcomes for their children. Studies have also shown that fathers with good mental health can buffer the potential effects of mothers’ well-being difficulties on their children. Ensuring that fathers are well supported during the postnatal period is not only important for fathers, but also for promoting the well-being of their whole family." (Giallo, 2012)
This information impacts my future work with children and families because it has informed me on a topic that is extremely important in childrens life. The implications of a father who is not mentally healthy can be tragic within the family because the father may turn to: abusing family members, or even forming some type of drug addiction to cope. (I am not by any means implying that women with mental health issues can not display some of the same ill effects as a father with a mental health concern.)
Reference
Giallo, R. (2012). Postnatal Depression: It doesn't just affect women. Asian Scientist:News and information from the Asian scientific community. Retrieved on September 14, 2012 from http://www.asianscientist.com/health-medicine/postnatal-depression-in-men-lsac-australia-2012/
Fathers play a very integral role in the lives of their children. I think we often forget about how mental illness affects the lives of fathers and how it can have a long lasting impact on the structure of the family. Your post remind me of the movie for colored girls, the tragic scene when the mentally ill father threw his children out the window and killed them. It was such a difficult scene to watch but it’s a reality for some families.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post,I never really thought about how mental illness can affect the lives of fathers. I know that fathers play an important role in their child's life, but most of the time is women that plays the father and mother. But there are some fathers that play both roles as well. There are alot of components that play a role in a fathers mental illness such as losing a job and not being able to provide for the family.
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