Becoming a parent can be one of the biggest blessings ever, but it isn’t always necessarily a walk in the park!
Over the years, a lot of studies have been done to see the effects parenthood could have on people, but up until recently they mostly focused on mothers! Well new surveys are showing that having children can have similar affects on new fathers as well, especially ones who have babies in their younger years!
A survey found that paternal depression affected 5-10% of fathers, which is comparable to maternal depression which affects 10-15% of new mothers.
The study also found that symptoms of depression increased by 68% in the first five years of parenthood for 25-year-old men who had children early on.
Lisa Harvey, who is a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst spoke out about the research and didn’t seem too surprised by the numbers:
“Parenting young children is rewarding but also one of the most difficult jobs in the world, so it’s not surprising that both mothers and fathers experience greater depression during the transition to parenthood. Young children require an enormous amount of care, and it can be stressful to juggle parenting, work, extra housework, all while getting less sleep. Having a child can also cause financial strain and difficulties in the couple’s relationship. All of these things can put parents at risk for becoming depressed.”
That definitely makes a LOT of sense!
Taking care of a newborn is a lot of work with very little sleep, so it’s not surprising that stress levels would be much higher in the first few years of parenthood!
Of course, it all pays off when you get the overwhelming sense of accomplishment in raising a miniature version of yourself, but that’s just our opinion!