While postpartum depression is a phenomenon well-known in women, men are at risk to develop the condition as well, a new study suggests. .

Postpartum depression is a condition where someone will experience symptoms of depression after giving birth to a child, usually due to a huge drop in hormone levels. 

For the study, published in the journal Pediatrics on Friday, the team screened 431 parents of premature infants at the hospital for the condition four times each using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale

Researchers also found that fathers' baseline depression scores were likely to stay relatively the same at each point of screening, while it would often decrease ten-fold for the mother when the child was brought home

'The unanticipated difference we found in the trajectory of depression symptoms between mothers and fathers after bringing their preemie home underscores the importance of reaching out to fathers, who might not even be aware that they need help or know where to turn when in persistent distress,' said Garfield. 

The CDC also notes that around four percent of new fathers will experience the condition, especially younger fathers, or fathers who already had depression at some point before the child was born.