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Abstract

Introduction: The pregnancy period and the first few months of life are a critical time for a child’s development. On the other hand, the transition to fatherhood represents a life event that increases the vulnerability to men-tal disorders in parents. Paternal postpartum depression (PPD) and its effects have received less attention than maternal postpartum depression (MPD), for which the impact on child development has already been described. This review article aims to synthesize the impact of PPD on child development.
Methods: A bibliographic search was conducted in June 2024 for meta-analyses, systematic reviews and rando-mized clinical trials published in the last 20 years, in Portuguese or English, in the databases PubMed, Cochrane Library, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, using the terms “de-pression,” “father,” “infant,” and “development.” The Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy from the American Family Physician was used to assign levels of evidence and strength of recommendation.
Results: Of the 743 articles obtained, three met the selection criteria. These articles suggest that, like MPD, PPD negatively affects cognitive and language development in children up to 24 months of age.
Conclusion: Given the scientific evidence presented, the authors consider it relevant to create strategies and measures aimed at preventing mental illness in fathers.