Living with female rats exposed to restraint stress during pregnancy caused depressive-like behavior in male rats and stress-induced apoptosis.

The present study demonstrates that RS results in PPD in females. Furthermore, it implicates RS 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.