People far more likely to associate postnatal depression with women than men

Less than half of the study’s participants identified a male case study as suffering from postnatal depression

People are almost twice as likely to associate postnatal depression with women than men, a new study finds.

The research, published in the Journal of Mental Health and led by Professor Viren Swami of Anglia Ruskin University, involved 406 British adults aged between 18 and 70.

The participants were presented with case studies of a man and a woman both showing symptoms of postnatal depression.

The study found that participants of both sexes were less likely to say that the man was struggling (76 per cent) compared to woman (97 per cent).

However, those who did identify a problem were significantly more likely to diagnose postnatal depression in the female case study than the male.

The research found that 90 per cent of participants correctly described the female case study as suffering from postnatal depression but only 46 per cent said the male had postnatal depression.

In fact, respondents commonly believed that the man was suffering from tiredness or stress (21 per cent of the time), compared to only 0.5 per cent for the woman, despite displaying identical symptoms.

According to the NHS, postnatal depression is a mental health condition that many parents experience after having a baby

Research from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and University College London in 2010 found that 39 per cent of mothers and 21 per cent of fathers experienced a depressive episode, with the highest risk being in the first year after birth.

Common symptoms of the depression include a persistent feeling of sadness and low mood, a lack of energy, and trouble sleeping.

The new study also found that, overall, attitudes were significantly more negative towards the male case study compared to the female.

Participants reported lower perceived distress towards the male case study’s condition, believed his condition would be easier to treat, expressed less sympathy for him and were less likely to suggest that he seeks help.

Parents home from hospital with newborn baby (Getty Images)

Lead author Viren Swami, Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “Our findings suggest that the British public are significantly more likely to believe that something is ‘wrong’ when seeing a woman displaying the symptoms of postnatal depression, and they are also far more likely to correctly label the condition as postnatal depression.”

Swami explained that there may be a number of reasons for the gender difference, including a lack of awareness of paternal postnatal depression among the British public, and the perception that postnatal depression is a “women’s issue” as a result of factors including pregnancy-induced hormonal changes and delivery complications.

“What is clear is that much more can be done to promote better understanding of paternal postnatal depression, so people don’t brush it off as simply tiredness or stress,” she added.

“This is particularly important as many men who experience symptoms of depression following the birth of their child may not be confident about asking for help and may be missed by healthcare professionals in the routine assessments of new parents.”

A survey conducted by the NCT in 2016 found that one in three (38 per cent) new fathers are concenred about their mental health, with some believing that they may be suffering from the "baby blues".

In addition, 73 per cent of those surveyed said that they were stressed due to worrying about their female partner's mental health.