In recent years, the paternity leave of the French has evolved to allow them to spend more time with their baby, and this very quickly following birth. What impact does this paternity leave have on the mental health of young fathers? A recent French study looked into this question. Explanations.
Paternity leave and mental health
In France, paternity and childcare leave is now a right open to all employees, regardless of the seniority and nature of their contract with their employer. Currently, this paternity leave is of a maximum duration of 25 consecutive days (Saturday, Sunday and public holidays included) for the birth of a child, a duration extended to 32 days in the event of multiple births. This paternity leave follows the three-day birth leave triggered at the time of the child’s birth.
Men can choose to take this paternity leave all at once, or to split it up over the first six months of the child’s life. A research team from INSERM recently looked at the impact of this paternity leave on the mental health of men. The researchers took into account data from more than 10,000 heterosexual couples (10,975 fathers and 13,075 mothers) participating in the ELFE cohort study (French Longitudinal Study since Childhood). The mothers had given birth in 2011 in one of the 320 maternities participating in the study in metropolitan France.
Paternity leave reduces the risk of postnatal depression in fathers
The researchers sought to assess whether taking paternity leave for two weeks following the birth of their child had positive effects two months following the birth, on the one hand on the mental health of the fathers and, on the other hand on that of mothers. The data collected revealed that men who took paternity leave for two weeks following the birth of their child were at lower risk of postpartum depression than men who did not take it. Just the intention of taking this paternity leave, without even doing so, had a positive effect on their mental health.
Men are indeed exposed like women to the risk of postnatal depression. It is estimated that 17% of women and 10% of men develop this specific form of depression. In the study, more than 64% of the fathers had already taken paternity leave, 17% had considered doing so and almost 19% were not considering it. The data highlights a 26% reduction in the risk of postpartum depression in fathers taking paternity leave.
Extending paternity leave for a benefit on the mental health of mothers?
The second striking result of the study is more surprising, since the data show that the mental health of women is potentially negatively impacted by the taking of paternity leave by their spouse. Women whose husbands took paternity leave had an increased risk of developing postpartum depression, compared to women whose husbands continued to work. For the researchers, this result might indicate that a duration of 15 days for paternity leave is not sufficient to positively impact the risk of postnatal depression in the mother.
In addition, detailed analysis of the data reveals the influence of demographic and socio-economic factors on the link between paternity leave and mental health. These results were collected before the changes in the duration of paternity leave. Researchers now want to assess the impact on mental health of the new paternity leave, the duration of which has doubled. In a recent literature review, Swedish researchers had shown that the extension of maternity leave was associated with an improvement in the mental health of mothers. The same evaluation remains to be carried out for the effect of extending the duration of paternity leave on the mental health of fathers and mothers.
Estelle B., Doctor of Pharmacy
Sources
– Paternity and childcare leave. AMELI Health. ameli.fr. Accessed January 6, 2023.
