Australian fatherhood experts have called for dads to be included in national efforts to screen new parents for depression.

Screening mothers for mental illness before and after birth is now standard practice in Australia, but the mental health of dads is not routinely assessed at any point. 

This article was compiled by Richard Fletcher, University of Newcastle; Jacqui Macdonald, Deakin University, and Louise Newman, University of Melbourne and is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

England’s National Health Service (NHS) this week announced it will offer mental health screening and treatment for new and expectant fathers whose partners are suffering from mental illness. The NHS described this as a “radical action to support families”, and it certainly is an unusual step.