Paternal postpartum depression and associated factors among partners of women who gave birth in the last 12 months in Dessie Town, Northeast Ethiopia, 2023: community based cross sectional study

Abstract Background Paternal depression among fathers of new-borns is a new concept in Ethiopia. It is an emerging public health concern because; it produces insidious effects on the well-being of new-borns as well as on the whole family, which is currently under screened, under diagnosed and undertreated. However, there is limited evidence on the prevalence of paternal postpartum depression and its predictors among partners of women in Ethiopia.Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 634 partners of postpartum women in Dessie town from January10-Feburary10, 2023 to assess the prevalence of paternal postpartum depression and associated factors among partners of women who gave birth in the last 12 months. The data were collected using a structured and pretested questionnaire though face-to-face interviews and the data were cleaned, edited, and entered into Epi-data version 4.6, and analysed SPSS Version 26.The Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale was considered at a cutoff point ≥ 10 to detect depression.Result A total of 610 fathers were interviewed with a response rate of 96.2% and the prevalence of paternal postpartum depression was 19%, (95%CI: 16.0, 22.3). This study showed that; not comfortable with family income [AOR = 2.32(95% CI: 1.16, 4.66)], substance use [AOR = 2.48(95% CI: 1.22, 5.05)], experience of childbirth[AOR = 1.89(95% CI: 1.02, 3.50)], unplanned pregnancy [AOR = 2.81(95%CI: 1.50, 5.25)] and infant sleep problem [AOR = 3.59(95% CI: 1.80, 7.18)], were significantly associated with paternal depression.Conclusion and recommendations: This study revealed that almost one-fifth of fathers had paternal postpartum depression. Not comfortable with family income, substance use, experience of childbirth, unplanned pregnancy and infant sleeping problem were significantly associated with paternal postpartum depression. This suggests the need to provide health education to decrease substance use and counselling to the utilization of family planning to minimize unplanned pregnancy and supports offer to multiparous fathers.