Publisher's Synopsis
Taking in many different perspectives, this book sheds light on the many aspects of postnatal depression in fathers - an unknown subject to many people. It includes a review of recent studies and research in this area, investigating the reasons behind male postnatal depression and how this can effect family relationships. It also examines the the social and psychoanalytic factors which go some way to explaining why men experience this depression as well as women. The book's author, Olivia Spencer, talks with Michel Odent, a renowned obstetrician, writer, and birth expert. Odent's controversial view that men should not be present at childbirth, and that their presence may indeed be a trigger for depression, are central to his discussion. Spencer also talks with Adam Jukes, a psychoanalyst with a wealth of experience in working with violent and angry men. Jukes gives fascinating insights into male behavior, explaining that we simply don't give men the resources they need to deal with a new baby. The book opens up a discussion of diagnosis and treatment through personal stories from both men and women affected by a father's postnatal depression. It will increase awareness of this under-discussed subject and will challenge preconceptions. *** "This book will certainly provide significant contributions to the field of childbirth education in the conventional, childbirth preparation, and labor and birth classes....Fathers involved in the pregnancy experience, even in a small way, can be encouraged to take the suggested surveys identified in this book. It will certainly increase the conversation on providing more resources for fathers who are unaware of, or are reluctant to talk about, suffering from PND." - International Journal of Childbirth Education, Vol. 30, No. 2, April 2015Ã?Â?Ã?Â?
