Link Found Between Depressed Dads and Crying Babies

By JustMommies

While there has been research about depressed moms and the effects they can have on their infants (including crying and colic), a new study from Dutch researchers also finds a connection between depressed dads and newborns.

HealthDay reported on the study, done at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. Researchers gathered information from the homes of 4,426 babies where parents had signs of depression and narrowed in on infants who cried "excessively" (more than 3 hours a day). One link found was that infants who cried excessively were 30% more likely to have depressed parents. Moreover, a dad with depression issues was twice as likely to have an infant who exhibited these symptoms.

Lead researcher Dr. Mijke P. van der Berg tells HealthDay, "Fathers do matter, so take care for the mental well-being of fathers during pregnancy. This study demonstrates in a paradoxical way the importance of fathers, in that fathers' measurable depression during pregnancy is a risk factor for excessive infant crying at 2 months of age."

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By Daddyx2 on 07/01/09 at 7:13 am

I don't understand how anyone could make the claim that it is the depression of the dad that makes the baby cry, whereas the mom is depressed because th  ...

By pattyandthemoos on 07/01/09 at 6:30 am

[QUOTE=teresarunsalot;16420263]I'd be curious to know whether they studied how crying babies affected dads moods instead of the other way around. Havin  ...

By teresarunningmommy on 07/01/09 at 6:19 am

I'd be curious to know whether they studied how crying babies affected dads moods instead of the other way around. Having had 3 kids with colic I would  ...

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