New app focuses on new dads’ problems

A trial of a new app has highlighted the often-overlooked mental health challenges fathers face when welcoming a new baby into the family.

Dr Sam Teague, a Senior Research Fellow at James Cook University's Department of Psychology, led the study.

She said perinatal (the period of a baby’s life from conception to one-year-old) mental health problems for mothers and fathers - such as depression, anxiety and stress - represent major public health challenges.

“About 10 % of fathers experience depression during pregnancy and into the first year post-partum, 20 % experience anxiety, and 5 % report suicidal thoughts – double the rate seen in men in the general population. But these problems are commonly overlooked in men during the perinatal period,” said Dr Teague.

She said fathers’ depression, anxiety and stress can have a unique impact on children’s behaviour and emotional problems - beyond maternal influences - with effects seen from early infancy to adolescence.

“This makes the perinatal period an opportune time to support fathers’ mental health, just as family life is being established,” said Dr Teague.

The team used a chat bot app to track the moods of and to promote mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy exercises to 75 fathers expecting or living with a new baby.

“We found improved outcomes for fathers experiencing anxiety and stress, as well as those with more severe depression,” said Dr Teague.

“Fathers also reported improvements in their relationships with their spouse after using the app.”

A comparison group of 81 fathers used a simplified version of the app, which offered only the mood tracking feature. They too experienced significant reductions in anxiety and stress.

“The mood tracker was used almost daily by fathers in both groups, and it appears to have had a substantial impact on their mental health,” said Dr Teague.

“This suggests that improving awareness of one’s mood and the factors that influence it is a simple but powerful tool for men’s mental health.”

The app is now being expanded to include mothers, supported by an NHMRC Investigator Grant awarded to Dr Teague in 2024.

“Partner support is one of the strongest protective factors for perinatal mental health in both mothers and fathers.

“By integrating support for both parents into a single app, we’re aiming to build a more holistic, family-centred mental health platform,” said Dr Teague

Link to papers here and here.