Risk Factors of Prenatal and Postpartum Depression in Fathers: A Review Study

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders during pregnancy that can appear before or after delivery. Pregnancy is also a stressful phenomenon for fathers. Several factors can affect different aspects of paternal depression. This review study aims to investigate factors related to prenatal and postpartum depression in men. 

By using related keywords, a search was conducted in Google Scholar, PubMed, SID, Magiran, ProQuest, Web of Science, IranDoc, and Cochrane Library, and Scopus on related studies. Finally, 60 studies were selected for the review. 

The findings were classified into three general categories: biological factors (age, baby’s gender, unplanned pregnancy, sleep disorders), psychological factors (economic anxiety, history of illness, maternal postpartum depression, use of antidepressants and tobacco), and social factors (lack of social support and marital disputes). 

It seems that paying attention to these factors can improve paternal depression. However, in order to increase the knowledge of factors related to paternal depression in prenatal and postpartum periods, conducting studies with a qualitative approach is recommended.