Objective

Maternal mood disorders such as postpartum depression (PPD) can negatively affect the lives not only of mothers but also of partners. The purpose of this study investigates emotional behavior and hippocampal apoptosis alterations of the male live with a postpartum depressed female.

Methods

Pregnant rats in the stress group were exposed to restraint stress (RS). The male rats who shared the same cages were not exposed RS. To explain the consequences of depressive-like behavior and anxiety, animals were exposed to the forced swim test (FST), open field test (OFT), and elevated plus maze (EPM). The apoptotic cell number was detected by TUNEL staining.

Results

According to FST, postpartum depression caused more immobility, reduced swimming, and climbing compared to control groups in the stressed female and male (P<0.05). For the crossing number of squares in the center area, the main effect of the group was significant (p<0.05). Stressed groups have a higher crossing number of squares in the center area compared to control groups. In the OFT, there was a significant increase in the time spent in the center area in the stress female and male group compared to the control female and male group (p<0.05). For the EPM, time spent in the close arms was increased in the control male and stress male compared to the stress female group (P<0.05). Female and male rats with postpartum depression demonstrated apoptosis in neuron and glial cells in the hippocampus.

Conclusions

The present study demonstrates that PS results in postpartum depression in females. Furthermore, it implicates PS as a potential risk factor for the development of postpartum mood disorder in males. Most of the studies on paternal PPD have been done by using self-report questionnaires. Studies on physiological and hormonal changes during the postpartum period among fathers would provide information on biological factors of depression.