The Correlation Between Paternal Postpartum Anxiety and Maternal Postpartum Anxiety and Depression: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Studies on paternal postpartum anxiety are sparse, and their results are mostly contradictory. Thus, this research was performed to determine the correlation between paternal postpartum anxiety and maternal postpartum anxiety and depression (PPD).

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among 250 couples who referred to selected health centers of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, using convenience sampling. The demographic questionnaire, short form of maternal postpartum specific anxiety and Edinburgh postpartum depression scale, and paternal Spielberger state-trait anxiety scale were completed by phone and by the researcher. Data analysis was done using SPSS-16 software, independent t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation.

RESULTS

The paternal postpartum State and Trait anxiety were related with maternal postpartum anxiety (r = 0.250, p < 0.001) (r = 0.245, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.341, p < 0.001) (r = 0.416, p < 0.001), respectively.

CONCLUSION

This research indicated that paternal postpartum anxiety is directly related to maternal postpartum anxiety and depression.