Paternal perinatal mental health: evidence review

2. Methodology

The articles included in this rapid review were identified by searching several electronic databases. All searches were limited to articles written in English. The publication search period used was 2010-2023. Additional references published outwith this time span were included if they were of particular relevance. This review draws on research from Scotland and the wider UK, Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The inclusion criteria for eligible studies were:

• Studies of first-time or experienced fathers of healthy full-term babies.
• Studies focusing on the perinatal period.
• Studies exploring the experiences, needs and perceptions of fathers relating to paternal mental health during the perinatal period.
• Studies referring to physiological, and/or psychological changes experienced by men in the perinatal period.

2.1. Limitations

There are several limitations to this review. It does not explore in detail the relationships between paternal perinatal mental health and maternal mental health or the mental health of others within the family unit. It also does not include studies on psychological interventions for paternal perinatal mental health. This review does not discuss the mental health of fathers with severe and enduring mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or personality disorders, during the perinatal period. The research on this area is noted to be limited (Baldwin et al., 2019). Lastly, this review does not consider the perinatal mental health experiences of non-biological fathers, (biological and non-biological) gay and lesbian partners or transgender and non-binary individuals.