ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2020
Supporting women who develop poor postnatal mental health: what support do fathers receive to support their partner and their own mental health?
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Navigating postpartum psychosis: perspectives, needs, expectations and experiences of women and their families - a systematic review.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of a family-centered empowerment intervention on role adaptation and depressive symptoms in high-risk primigravidas and their partners.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Trial
- Forced migrant fathers' experiences of pregnancy and childbirth: a hermeneutic phenomenological study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- "It's Like What Sex Ed Should Probably Be": Fathers' Feedback on a Teen Health Program.Journal of child and family studies · 2026Article
- Preferences for group psychological interventions on perinatal depression in China: a discrete choice experiment.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Family members' experiences of supporting black and South Asian women with perinatal mental illness: a qualitative study in the UK.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Paternal perinatal mental health support: fathers' perspectives on barriers, facilitators, and preferences.Discover mental health · 2025Article
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- Article
- Lived experiences of mothers with postnatal anxiety: a qualitative phenomenology study from Pakistan.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Postpartum Psychosis: A Review of Risk Factors, Clinical Picture, Management, Prevention, and Psychosocial Determinants.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Review
- Fathers' Educational Needs Assessment in Relation to Their Participation in Perinatal Care: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Expanding the international conversation with fathers' mental health: toward an era of inclusion in perinatal research and practice.Archives of women's mental health · 2021Review
- "What kind of man gets depressed after having a baby?" Fathers' experiences of mental health during the perinatal period.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2021Article
- A Review of the Involvement of Partners and Family Members in Psychosocial Interventions for Supporting Women at Risk of or Experiencing Perinatal Depression and Anxiety.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Father's Perspectives on Family Relationships and Mental Health Treatment Participation in the Context of Maternal Postpartum Depression.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
- A dreaded delight: A longitudinal qualitative interview study of paternal childbirth fear during the transition to fatherhood.European journal of midwifery · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResearch regarding support provided for poor maternal postnatal mental health (such as depression, anxiety disorders, and postpartum psychosis) is relatively common. Fathers appear to play an important role supporting partners but many feel alienated within maternity services. Research focusing on fathers is less common.
methodsThe current qualitative study aimed to investigate fathers' experience of support provided to fathers, to help support their partner should she experience poor postnatal mental health.
resultsTwenty-five fathers participated in an online questionnaire regarding their experience of their partner's poor postnatal mental health and the support provided to fathers to help her. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes and seven sub-themes. The themes were: 'Support received to help support their partner', 'Support fathers wanted that was not received' and 'Father's mental health'. The results highlight an overall lack of support for many fathers, despite many wanting support on how to help their partner, information on their own mental health and the services available. Fathers specifically wanted healthcare professionals to sign-post them to someone they can talk to for emotional support, and to be taught coping strategies which would help them to support both their partner and baby.
conclusionsThe findings from this study suggest that health professionals and perinatal mental health services need a better understanding about what resources fathers need to support the mental health of themselves and their partner.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.