It's Not What You Want, It's What She Needs

I (Omar) created this video to inform men about the effects that postpartum mood and anxiety disorders have on wives, girlfriends, partners, or significant others. Studies demonstrate that “Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious mood disorder that may carry life-long consequences for a woman and her family” (Corwin, Kohen, Jarrett, & Stafford 2010, p.73). As men, we may not be familiar with what postpartum disorders are. When our partners struggle, we can feel like we are not much help. Instead of helping, we sometimes make things worse by making comments that only hurt our loved one. I (Omar) will share some of the common mistakes men tend to make during the delicate postpartum phase. If you find that you are making one of them, then it is a great time to stop. I (Omar) love my wife and hope that I can be supportive of her during that time. Studies uncovered that “Supportive relationships can play an important role in recovery from PP” (Wyatt, Murray, Davies, & Jomeen, 2015, p. 426). We truly hope this segment helps!

Have feedback?

Share with us by completing this brief survey.

References

Corwin, E. J., Kohen, R., Jarrett, M., & Stafford, B. (2010, p.73). The heritability of postpartum depression. Biological Research for Nursing, 12(1), 73-83. doi:10.1177/1099800410362112

Postpartum Dads: Helping Families Overcome Postpartum Depression (PPD). (n.d.). Mistakes. Retrieved from https://postpartumdads.wordpress.com/z-mistakes/

Ohara, M. W. (2009, p. 1258). Postpartum depression: What we know. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(12), 1258-1269. doi:10.1002/jclp.20644

Wyatt, C., Murray, C., Davies, J., & Jomeen, J. (2015). Postpartum psychosis and relationships: Their mutual influence from the perspective of women and significant others. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 33(4), 426-442. doi:10.1080/02646838.2015.1027181