3 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Yes, Dads Can Struggle With Postpartum Depression—Here’s Why
Post partum refers to the state of the body. As your body was not pregnant, it cannot be in a postpartum state.
Call it postnatal depression. It still codifies the root cause while being actually accurate.
Comment by TheIncelInQuestion at 12/01/2025 at 21:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
You want to understand how dumb this argument we're having is?
Post Partum is literally just Latin for "after the act of childbirth". Postpartum depression therefore, is just depression experienced after the act of childbirth.
Etymologically, you're incorrect, and there is no argument from the medical community that labeling Paternal PPD as PPD is medically incorrect, especially because it's not clear clear at all what factors go into it for women. Yes their are hormonal shifts, but *most* women don't get PPD, and the greatest predictor of PPD is prior mental health issues. Generally, it's accepted to be caused by a combination of factors, the relationship and weighting of which is unknown.
In contrast, Natal is Latin for "to be born", as in, your own birth. Postnatal Depression, therefore, means "depression experienced by someone after they're born".
So etymologically, calling what fathers experience "post natal depression" is wildly inaccurate. Medically, "post natal care" still refers to acts concerning the baby. So "Natal" is still being used this way. . So no, it does not codify the root cause, as the word means an entirely different thing, and it is not accurate.
There is nothing to suggest that PPD is an inaccurate term here. There is nothing that says men physically can't experience it. The language here is intentionally being warped so that it excluded men.
Like, personally I don't give a shit what we call it. That's not the problem. The problem is, people won't care. They'll still make the same arguments about how it's different, so therefore discussing it in this manner is disrespectful to women. And they'll repeat that sentiment as long as the conversation is happening at all.
I'm against changing it because I know that if we keep jumping through these hoops, we'll never stop jumping. The whole point is to keep us busy arguing over bullshit instead of addressing the issue.