The Movember Foundation's survey identified that around one in five men in the UK lost close friends within a year of becoming a father. It also found that a quarter of new dads felt isolated and three-quarters said their stress levels rose in the first year of being a father.
Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist Prof Paul Ramchandani presented his study on Fathers, Play & Depression, which identified that depression is common in dads and affects up to 10 per cent of all fathers who have a new baby.
In line with the feedback from local dads, Ramchandani's work had shown a 20 per cent increased risk of depression affecting the developmental outcomes for children, and this can be associated with a more withdrawn paternal behaviour possibly leading to less spontaneous play, which can have an impact on cognitive development.
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