An analysis of both published texts and men's talk about postnatal distress in men.

In the context of increased attention being paid to men's health, there is a
developing awareness and literature regarding postnatal distress in men. This
may appear to be a positive development. However, a discrepancy has been
identified between the published literature and women's experiences of postnatal
distress, and this has led to women not feeling validated or legitimised in their
experiences. There is a danger that the same will occur for men. From a social
constructionist perspective, this will have implications for the discourses available
to men who experience postnatal distress, and in turn, the practices that develop
in the context of these discourses. With this in mind, this research aimed to
explore the constructions of postnatal distress in men in both the published texts
and men's accounts, and to ascertain whether there is a discrepancy emerging
between the two. A discursive approach to analysis was utilised to identify the
discursive constructions of postnatal distress and the positioning of men and
women. Although both the published texts and men's accounts constructed
postnatal distress as applicable to men and women, there was a discrepancy in
how this was done between the two mediums. The implications for practice of
these constructions are discussed, including how we talk, the services that are
provided, and future research that is conducted regarding postnatal distress in
men.
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