This Father’s Day, we must face the reality of our country: We are failing new fathers.
While there is growing awareness of the mental health issues facing postpartum mothers, fathers are too often left behind. Approximately one in three fathers is at risk for postpartum depression, and in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where we work, the risk is closer to one in two. Mental health symptoms are so common that some NICUs, including our local facility, have begun to systematically include fathers in routine mental health screenings if their baby has an extended hospital stay. Unfortunately, there are large gaps in screening for fathers outside of hospitals and health insurance, and symptoms often go untreated.
Mentally healthy fathers improve father-baby interaction, infant development, and the emotional and behavioral health of young children. As pediatricians specializing in the care of seriously ill newborns, we see firsthand the challenges fathers face balancing the care of their baby and their partner with little time away from work. When fathers experience postpartum depression, their partners are at increased risk of experiencing symptoms. It is important to remember that support for fathers’ mental health also benefits mothers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics calls for all parents with infants who require care in the NICU to be screened for postpartum depression, but significant barriers exist: Pediatricians are not paid to coordinate mental health referrals for the many eligible parents they encounter. Combating the stigma surrounding mental health issues, especially for fathers, takes long, unpaid hours. The lack of routine testing of fathers after their babies are discharged from the hospital misses an opportunity to normalize, educate, and connect fathers to treatment, leaving fathers and their young families to fend for themselves in a system that makes mental health care increasingly difficult to access.
“Fathers seeking mental health care have limited options, and many are uninsured and don’t have a primary care physician. Most states, including Minnesota, extend Medicaid coverage for mothers for a year but have no such provision for fathers. Extending Medicaid coverage for fathers for the same period after the birth of a baby would be a major step that states could take in caring for new fathers.”
This Father’s Day, we should ensure that all fathers have access to mental health screening and treatment during the first year of their babies’ lives. This will result in better fathers’ health, better babies’ health, and better families’ health.
Dr. Sarah Swenson, MD, PhD, FAAP, is a Rhodes Scholar and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellow at Minnesota. Dr. Shetal Shah, MD, FAAP, is president of the National Pediatric Policy Council. Both are members of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
