Fathers’ mental health deteriorates long after the birth of their child

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The results show that the risk of receiving a psychiatric diagnosis decreased during pregnancy and the first few months after birth, compared with the year before. One year after the child’s birth, the rate of anxiety and alcohol- and drug-related diagnoses had returned to levels similar to those before pregnancy. However, for depression and stress-related disorders, a negative trend was observed. These diagnoses increased by over 30 percent one year after childbirth compared to before pregnancy. 

“The delayed increase in depression was unexpected and underscores the need to pay attention to warning signs of mental ill-health in fathers long after the birth of their child,” says Donghao Lu, senior lecturer and associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet, and the paper’s corresponding author. 

Support at the right time

The researchers emphasise that the study is based on clinical diagnoses, which means that men who did not seek medical care may have been overlooked. Despite this, the results provide a clear picture of when, during parenthood, the risk of mental ill-health may be greatest. 

“By identifying periods of increased vulnerability, healthcare providers and other stakeholders can more easily offer support,” says Jing Zhou. “Postnatal depression is often discussed for new mothers, but fathers’ well-being is also important, both for themselves and for the whole family.” 

The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers at Sichuan University in China and Uppsala University in Sweden. It was funded by Karolinska Institutet’s strategic research area in epidemiology and biostatistics, the Swedish Research Council and the European Research Council. The researchers report no conflicts of interest. 

Publication

Psychiatric disorders among fathers in Sweden before, during and after partner pregnancy, Nanyan Xiang, Jing Zhou, Yifei Lin MD, Yihui Yang, Miriam Martini, Bowen Tang, Yufeng Chen, Fotios C Papadopoulos, Emma Fransson, Alkistis Skalkidou, Jin Huang, Donghao Lu, JAMA Network Open, online 23 March 2026, doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.2725.