Postnatal mental health: New fathers encouraged to seek supp
2024-02-24 06:29:23+00:00

New fathers, who struggled with mental health issues after the births
of their babies, are encouraging other men with symptoms to seek
help.

Nial Sands realised "something was not right" after the arrival of
his baby boy, 11 months ago.

He now attends Dad's Voice in Ballymena, County Antrim, a group that
provides a safe space for fathers, who need support through
parenting.

"It's nice to know it's not just you feeling the pressure," he said.

Nial, from Draperstown in County Londonderry, told BBC News NI his
wife Danielle suffered a traumatic birth which led to her developing
postnatal depression.

"I felt helpless - there was nothing I could do and I wanted to be
there for her and help her," he said.

Nial said he only realised he was experiencing problems with his own
mental health once Danielle had recovered.

"It didn't come out in me until a wee bit afterwards, I think because
I had all the responsibilities," he said.

"My wife was obviously not well, so I thought that I had to be the
one to look after her and my wee boy."

Danielle began receiving help from a perinatal mental health team,
which involved daily visits.

That then led to Nial addressing his own issues.

"Whenever I spoke to the perinatal team, it was then that I sort of
realised that there was something not right with myself and they
pushed me to get help and they told me about Dad's Voice," he
explained.

"I did go to see the GP as well. The first thing that the GP did was
to give me medication and then we spoke about counselling."

Dr Judith O'Neill, chair of the Perinatal Group at the Royal College
of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland, said perinatal health services
had a "think family" approach.

"We do check in with dads and partners and the wellbeing of the
entire family," she added.

"I think it's very important - particularly in a postnatal period
that parental mental health is as good as possible because we know
that this will affect outcomes for the infant and children."

According to the NHS, postnatal depression is a type of depression
that many parents experience after having a baby.

Signs include a persistent feeling of sadness and low mood. Some
people experience difficulty looking after themselves or their
babies.

It affects more than one in 10 women within a year of giving birth
and the NHS said it can also affect partners.

Postnatal depression in men is not a term that is officially used in
Northern Ireland.

However, the Department of Health told BBC News NI it recognised that
the postnatal period could be a time of considerable psychological
and social stress for fathers and in some instances, this could
contribute to the development of depression or depressive symptoms.

Dr Frances O'Hagan, deputy chair of the Northern Ireland General
Practitioners Committee said men were more prone to depression after
the arrival of a new baby.

"I personally don't feel the name is important - it's the condition
that is important," she said.

"And the most important thing is that men get help. They put their
hand up and say I'm suffering and I need help - and the help is
there.

"It's very much an under-recognised condition. A lot of people tend
to focus on the mother and not the father - but the father has an
equal ability to become depressed."

Neil Dickson, a father-of-two from Ballymena, also attends Dad's
Voice.

He said after the birth of a child, the focus was rightfully on the
mother's wellbeing, but his message is for partners to speak up if
they are struggling.

"When my first child was born I probably did have depression but I
wasn't quite aware of it," he told BBC News NI.

"It was during the pregnancy of the second child that I knew
something wasn't quite right. I talked it through with the health
visitors and they recommended talking to the GP.

"In March last year, I was diagnosed with depression by the GP -
about a month after we had our second child.

"At the time, I just thought parenting was incredibly tough and I
wasn't doing a very good job.

"But it turns out through recent counselling that potentially I've
been depressed for years.

"In terms of symptoms, I felt nothing. The stuff I usually would have
enjoyed, I just did not care about. I just kind of disconnected in
general."

Dr O'Hagan said that while mental health services were stretched in
Northern Ireland, GPs could provide support.

"Your GP can do a lot - as well as going to counsellors and having
provision of primary mental health services - there is a lot that can
be done at the GP level."

Neil said he waited too long to seek help.

"By the time I got help I was too low and it's a constant struggle
the last year trying to feel myself again."

Darren Beggs is the lead facilitator of Dad's Voice and started the
group because he noticed a need for more support for new fathers.

He feels depression in the postnatal period in men is not properly
recognised in Northern Ireland.

"It's definitely a big life change," he said.

"Dads don't go through the physical change, but they do go through
all the emotions of their partner giving birth and feeling helpless."

He added the support group had been an invaluable resource.

"It's nice to go and know it's not just you that is feeling the
pressure of being a dad and going through these things - which you
think are normal situations - and they should be easy, but sometimes
they are just not."