Women’s struggles are rightfully front and centre when they become a new mother – but are dads left to struggle in silence?

New fathers tend to struggle with their mental health and the new changes in their roles and responsibilities, and some have argued that they deserve more support.

Dave Saunders from Lads to Dads said that like many new fathers, he initially struggled with the transition to fatherhood.

“I struggled with how to know whether I was being a good parent,” he told Lunchtime Live.

“I struggled a lot with anxiety and the worrying about, you know, am I doing this right? It’s a huge responsibility.

“At that time in my life, I wasn’t great at talking or sharing or opening up about how I was feeling.

“So, like a lot of men, what I did was I buried it and I just stuffed it down and I struggled on, and it really impacted my journey at the start.”

Mr Saunders said that while men would usually turn to their partner for support in times of distress, most hold back out of an awareness of the toll that childbirth can take.

Tired father with upset baby. Image: Louis-Paul st-onge Louis. 18 January 2019

Researcher and psychologist Karen Beckett said that since men are naturally less involved in meeting a child’s physical needs, it can be harder for them to find ways to bond with their children after birth.

“This is a life changing event, and this is something that shapes who you are as a person, regardless of gender, I think as professionals, we need to consider that,” she said.

“In antenatal care, women are asked lots of questions around their mental health; men aren’t asked those types of questions, those supports aren’t available.

“Even from day one, mum is so involved physically, whether they’re breastfeeding or changing and, you know, they’re kind of hands on.

“Sometimes they can leave dads saying, ‘What do I actually do with this child? How do I, if I’m not really caring for their physical needs, how do I support them?’”

Ms Beckett advised that dads engage in as much skin-to-skin contact with their newborns as possible.

She also said that reading to small children – even antenatally – can also help build bonds.

Main image: Young father at home holding his newborn baby.