Kate Biebel quoted in the New England Psychologist in an article by Phyllis Hanlon on Postpartum depression in new dads
Date Posted: Wednesday, June 08, 2016Postpartum depression in new dads: under-diagnosed and under-treated.
Kathleen Biebel, Ph.D., assistant director, Systems and Psychosocial Advances Research Center, associate professor, Department of Psychiatry, UMass Chan Medical School and program director, Massachusetts Psychiatry Access Project, reported that the months before a baby’s birth and the year following the event tend to leave the dads out of the picture.
Biebel explained further that pregnancy and childbirth is “mother-centric.” She said, “People are not asking about the dads. When the baby is born, the situation becomes baby-centric. Mom is the star and dad is like a walk-on. This could contribute to isolation and feeling more disconnected.” In conducting her research on perinatal depression in women, she has found few studies focused on dads.
