Dear Dr. Touchstone,
This weekend I was reading The NY Times and I came across an article titled, Can Fathers Have Postpartum Depression, by Douglas Quenqua. In it, the author discusses that new fathers experience postpartum depression in a different way compared to new mothers. He states that even though new mothers are more likely to have postpartum depression than new fathers, new mothers tend to get more and better help than new fathers. The society creates a stigma that men do not get depressed which causes men less likely to confront the postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a result of low levels in testosterone as well as fluctuations in other hormones like estradiol and prolactin in men. Along with the changes in hormones, there are sleep deprivation and stress that help contribute a father going into postpartum depression. To support his story, Mr. Quenqua refers to research conducted at University of Southern California. I investigated the research myself and read the original source.
Researchers Saxbe, Schetter, Simon, Adam & Shalowitz published the article; …show more content…
Quenqua missed a major opportunity in letting the readers know that high testosterone levels in fathers could indirectly affect depression through social and behavioral factors. This is important especially when fathers think they might be depressed but rule it out or will not want to talk about it because they have high levels of testosterone. After reading this article, parents assume that high levels of testosterone in fathers mean they are safe from depression. The article mentions how high levels of testosterones in new fathers can protect them against depression, yet it did not mention that high levels could also indirectly affect depression. The article did talk about how high levels in testosterone in new fathers can increase the risk of depression for new mothers. This shows that high levels of testosterone in fathers can indirectly affect mother’s
This weekend I was reading The NY Times and I came across an article titled, Can Fathers Have Postpartum Depression, by Douglas Quenqua. In it, the author discusses that new fathers experience postpartum depression in a different way compared to new mothers. He states that even though new mothers are more likely to have postpartum depression than new fathers, new mothers tend to get more and better help than new fathers. The society creates a stigma that men do not get depressed which causes men less likely to confront the postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is a result of low levels in testosterone as well as fluctuations in other hormones like estradiol and prolactin in men. Along with the changes in hormones, there are sleep deprivation and stress that help contribute a father going into postpartum depression. To support his story, Mr. Quenqua refers to research conducted at University of Southern California. I investigated the research myself and read the original source.
Researchers Saxbe, Schetter, Simon, Adam & Shalowitz published the article; …show more content…
Quenqua missed a major opportunity in letting the readers know that high testosterone levels in fathers could indirectly affect depression through social and behavioral factors. This is important especially when fathers think they might be depressed but rule it out or will not want to talk about it because they have high levels of testosterone. After reading this article, parents assume that high levels of testosterone in fathers mean they are safe from depression. The article mentions how high levels of testosterones in new fathers can protect them against depression, yet it did not mention that high levels could also indirectly affect depression. The article did talk about how high levels in testosterone in new fathers can increase the risk of depression for new mothers. This shows that high levels of testosterone in fathers can indirectly affect mother’s