How ‘baby blues’ dads can affect daughters

TEENAGE girls are more at risk of depression when they hit adulthood if their dads had the ‘baby blues’ when they were born, a new study has found.

Dads who suffer post-natal depression cause emotional problems in their daughters when they hit 18 but not sons.

University of Cambridge scientists suggest mental health problems in new dads has a knock-on effect with the child’s mother because the increased stress affects family life.

Professor Paul Ramchandani, of the Faculty of Education, said girls at 18 whose fathers had experienced depression after their birth were themselves at a ‘small but significant’ greater risk of the condition.

And almost one in 20 new dads will suffer from depression following the birth of their child.

The findings based on 3,176 fathers and their children in Bristol should lead to more screening of dads to nip post natal depression in the bud, researchers added.

Prof Ramchandani said: “The prevalence of depression in adolescents is between four and five per cent. The incidence of depression increases after puberty and is twice as high in girls as boys. The rate of depression increases with age from 5.7pc among youth aged 12 to 17 years to 7.4pc among adults aged 18 to 39 years in the US population. A recent review study reported that the strongest risk factors for depression in adolescents are a family history of depression and exposure to psychosocial stress.”