Depressed dads more negative in talking to their babies

Dads with 'postnatal' depression are more likely to fix on negatives and be more critical of themselves when talking to their new babies. The study by Oxford University researchers is the first to look at the speech of new fathers with depression in their early interactions with their babies. 'We found there were differences in the way depressed dads talked to their babies compared to fathers without depression,' said Vaheshta Sethna, first author of the study at the Department of Psychiatry at Oxford University. 'They tended to be more negative and be more focused on themselves. Sethna, who has since moved to the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, added: 'It is possible that babies will pick up on this negativity, that they will pick up on these cues even early in life. For example, the baby may have to respond differently to get attention. The Wellcome Trust-funded research is published in the journal Psychological Medicine .