讓懷孕的另一半保持愉快的心情大綱

Upheaval is all part and parcel of becoming a parent. But new mums and dads aren't always prepared for the huge lifestyle change that comes with the arrival of junior. Mum blogger and author Amy Ransom has had three children and spends a lot of time with new mums thinking and talking about the experience.

即將爲人父母，心情肯定很複雜吧？但準爸爸準媽媽並不一定做好了迎接生活方式發生鉅變的準備，而新生兒肯定會帶來這種鉅變。博主、作家艾米·蘭森有3個孩子，她大量的時間都在和準媽媽思考、談論這段經歷。

She met up with First Time Dads podcast presenters Steve Myall and Richard Innes to discuss what fathers can do to help mum and improve those traumatic early days. You can hear the full episode here: Amy also said aside from increasing their share of domestic chores new dads should also look after the health of mums particularly their mental health.

她與《初爲人父》的博客主持人史蒂夫·梅亞爾以及理查德·英尼斯一起討論：父親可以做些什麼來幫助媽媽、讓這些創傷的時期更加美好。在此你可以聽到完整討論：艾米還表示除了增加他們的家務活，準爸爸也應該照顧準媽媽的健康，尤其是她們的精神健康。

She said: "Most new mums suffer the baby blues in the immediate weeks after giving birth but with post natal depression it gets worse. But it's not uncommon for a mum two years in to be diagnosed with depression. It's important for dads to be there for their partners as much as they are for the new baby. Things to watch out for are low mood, being teary, being lethargic, not wanting to get out of bed and irrational thoughts."

她說："大多數準媽媽都會在分娩後的幾周內患上抑鬱症，但產後抑鬱會使其更爲嚴重。但當媽媽兩年之後才被診斷出抑鬱症並不稀奇。父親經常性的陪伴在另一半身邊、陪伴在孩子身邊是很重要的。需要注意情緒不高、容易落淚、昏昏欲睡、不想下牀、想法激進等問題。"

"The symptoms stay around. Not someone who is teary for a couple of days and then OK for weeks at a time. I do think dads are very good at picking up on it but think addressing it is incredibly difficult because they don't know how to do it."

"這些症狀一直存在。並不只是每次落淚幾天，而後正常幾個星期。我覺得父親十分擅長髮現這個問題，但解決這個問題卻十分困難，因爲他們不知該如何去做。"

Amy children are now aged three, five and eight, has suffered for depression herself had some illuminating tips for new dads. She said: "Dads maybe scared of it and it could be a difficult question to ask 'are you ok?'. It could sound like a judgement about how good a mother is. I think it's important for dads to seek advice from someone in the friendship group perhaps, one of his female relations, or her mother if he has a good relationship with her."

艾米的孩子現在分別三歲、五歲和八歲，她本人患過抑鬱症，她給了準爸爸一些令人啓發的建議。她說："爸爸們可能害怕抑鬱症，羞於啓齒'你還好嗎'這個問題。聽起來像是在評論你這個母親當的好不好。我覺得爸爸們找朋友圈的哥們兒、姐們兒或者自己的母親（如果與母親關係很好的話）汲取建議是很重要的。"

"If you are really really worried about it you should have a conversation with a health visitor or doctor because once someone starts getting help they get a lot better quickly. I remember I just wanted to hear 'you are doing a good job' and be reassured."

"如果你真的十分擔心，那你應該與家訪護士或醫生聊一聊，因爲一旦得到幫助，患者就能更快的恢復。我記得我當時只想聽到'你做的真棒'、只想感到心安。"