While it has long been known that postnatal depression affects some new mothers, there is much less awareness of the impact of postnatal depression in new fathers.

But with about 10% of new fathers meeting diagnostic criteria for postnatal depression, there is an urgent need to understand why some new fathers become depressed. In this talk, Prof Viren Swami draws on his experience of becoming a father and being diagnosed with postnatal depression to better understand why some dads get sad. He looks at the biological and psychosocial factors that lead to postnatal depression in men and discusses what can be done to meet the healthcare needs of new fathers.

Viren Swami is Professor of Social Psychology at Anglia Ruskin University, where he is Director of the Centre for Societies and Groups, and Adjunct Professor at Perdana University, where he is Director of the Centre for Psychological Research. His research is focused on body image and human appearance and, separately, on mental health literacy. He is the author of over two hundred academic papers and three books, including Attraction Explained and The Psychology of Physical Attraction.