The news that partners of those new and expectant mothers who suffer from depression or anxiety will be offered mental health checks by the NHS is extremely welcome. It is good for men, but also a breakthrough for women. That’s because the NHS is at last recognising not only that men have postnatal issues too, but that the wellbeing of new mothers is deeply dependent on supporting the skills and capacities of their children’s fathers.
This change will help to avoid the potentially tragic cases we hear about at the Fatherhood Institute, a UK charity. With support from the NHS, new fathers will be better able to deal with mental health issues they may have, and to help their partners through psychosis, anxiety and depression after they give birth.
The news is a leap forward. Until now the NHS has tended to treat pregnancies as virgin births, ignoring the fact that about 95% of new mothers are married to, living with, or planning to raise their child with the biological father. Our review of UK research highlights that expectant mothers overwhelmingly want their partner to be included in antenatal education and care: they tend to judge the care that they receive as positive if they perceive their partner as having been encouraged and included by maternity services.
When a mother is suffering mental distress there may be a number of causes, including in some cases the couple’s relationship itself. We know that the mental health of mothers and fathers is closely intertwined. When the father is supportive, his partner is less likely to become ill, and more likely to recover quickly if they do. And a man’s poor mental health is a risk factor for his partner’s and child’s.
If services fail to address the father and his wellbeing, they may be missing out on opportunities to identify problems being experienced by the mother. They are also losing out on help for the mother and her family. When examining today’s enlightened and overdue NHS announcement, we should remember that parental care is not a zero-sum game – helping fathers helps mothers too.
• Jack O’Sullivan was co-founder of Fathers Direct, which is now the Fatherhood Institute
