The role of the father in parental postnatal mental health

The British Journal of Medical Psychology
M Marks, S Lovestone

Abstract

Contrary to idealized images of parenthood, the months immediately following childbirth are characterized by enhanced rates of parental mental illness and filicide. In this paper we consider fathers and their role in the postnatal well-being of the parturient couple. The process of becoming a father is influenced by not only the man's internal and external experiences of 'father', but also the woman's, since the new infant's relationship with father is mediated by mother and her conjugal relationship with father. When a couple's prenatal relationship is based on a system of shared parental constructs involving a denigrated father and overvalued mother and a concomitant intolerance of the idea of a creative (Oedipal) couple, they will experience particular difficulties in adjusting to the new family configuration. In working with individuals or couples who have experienced post-partum psychological difficulties it is important to remember that not only maternal imagos but also paternal and conjugal ones need to be addressed.

Citations

Apr 11, 2003·Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing : JOGNN·Anne BuistSarah Durkin
Jan 20, 2005·Australian Journal of Midwifery : Professional Journal of the Australian College of Midwives Incorporated·Victoria Williamson, Helen McCutcheon
Apr 4, 2006·Journal of Nursing Scholarship : an Official Publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing·Jeffrey D GageLinda Bullock
Jan 1, 1996·Journal of Health Psychology·D F Marks
Aug 1, 1997·Journal of Women's Health·S F PariserD K Gardner
Sep 20, 2000·Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology·C A MorseS Durkin
Feb 16, 2006·The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry·Max W Abbott, Maynard M Williams
Sep 21, 2004·Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology·L SeimyrB Sjögren

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