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Original poster

husband with post-natal depression?

8 replies

tonton · 03/05/2006 11:38

I had dd2 nealry 3 weeks ago. My husband has been feeling low/depressed since a few days before I went into labour.
The labour was long and hard and he actually had to leave before the end as he was having what seemed to be a panic attack - which hasn't happened before.
He perked up afterwards but since then has been so low and dpressed. I can recognise it as I have have suffered from depression for years but am on medication which works well. He is self-eploed and has no work lined up at the moment which doesn't help. Has anyone lse had a similar experience? I've suggested he go to the doctor but he doesn't want to and he hasn 't really talked to me about it.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 03/05/2006 11:47

Men do not get post natal depression, as this type of depression is directly linked w/hormone concentrations - and their effect on some neurotransmitters - in the female body following childbirth.

He could, however, be experiencing clinical depression.

He should see a doctor if he thinks he is depressed.

Marina · 03/05/2006 11:52

Definitely do all you can to get him to a GP tonton. So sorry you have this to concern you as well as recovering from a hard birth and looking after a newborn and a young child.
Dhs with clinical depression are very, very hard to support and empathise with IME.

Marne · 03/05/2006 11:59

Poor you and poor dh,
My dh has clinical depression, he was off work for 2 years (just after dd was born), he has just gone back to work after being on AD's on and off for 2 years, he went back on them the week dd2 was born. Having a baby can be just as stressful for them as it is us. The doctor said to dh that any big event (the birth of a new child, christmas etc..) could bring on his depression.

He realy needs to see someone or talk to someone about how he is feeling.

DH's depression stems back to when he was a child, his mother killed herself and he found her, his dad never spoke about it and he never greived for her. He's 36 now and has only just started to talk about it.

Good luck tonton, get him to the doctors, give him a big hug and let him know you are there if he wants to talk.

Marina · 03/05/2006 12:05

Marne, amazing what becoming a parent yourself can bring to the surface isn't it :(
We have been struggling off and on since our second child was stillborn and this bereavement caused my dh massive, ongoing distress because of childhood experiences. So sorry your dh had to take time off work with his depression :(

Marne · 03/05/2006 12:13

Lets hope your dh plucks up enough courage to talk to someone, dh found it very hard to admit he had a problem, after month's of arguments i managed to get him to go, not working made things worse because he got stuck in a rut and would'nt even go out. We decided he would stay home and look after dd1 and i went back to work. I'm so proud of him for going back to work as i know how hard it has been for him. He has a mental health assesment in a few weeks to see how bad his depression is.

foxinsocks · 03/05/2006 12:16

tonton, try and get him to go to a sympathetic GP. Men can get post natal depression. Here's the \link{http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleid=429\nhs blurb} on it and if you google post natal depression and men you'll find quite a lot of articles on it.

There's no definitive proof that hormones are to blame for PND.

Good luck - I hope you can find him some help.

Toots · 09/05/2006 15:00

Being self-employed with no work and a new baby is a scary thing.

My heart goes out to you tonton because you could really do with lots of security just now.

Toots · 09/05/2006 15:01

And my heart goes out to you too Marina Sad

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