Vol:.(1234567890) Community Ment Health J (2017) 53:482–489 DOI 10.1007/s10597-017-0103-1 1 3 ORIGINAL PAPER The Efect of Life Style Based Education on the Fathers’ Anxiety and Depression During Pregnancy and Postpartum Periods: A Randomized Controlled Trial Sakineh Mohammad‑Alizadeh Charandabi 1  · Mojgan Mirghafourvand 2  · Fovzieh Sanaati 3,4   Received: 12 February 2016 / Accepted: 24 January 2017 / Published online: 14 February 2017 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017 trait anxiety (−5.0; −7.8 to −2.2) scores at 8 weeks after intervention as well as postnatal depression (−3.3; −5.0 to −1.5); postnatal state anxiety (−7.5; −11.6 to −3.4), and postnatal trait anxiety (−8.3; −12.2 to −4.4) in the inter- vention group. The research results indicated the positive impact of training on prenatal and postnatal depression and anxiety in fathers. Given the easy implementation of training interventions during pregnancy, it is suggested that such interventions be paid more attention. Keywords Anxiety · Depression · Lifestyle · Prenatal and postnatal periods Introduction Depression is a widespread psychological disorder charac- terized by depressed mood, loss of interest and joy, feeling of guilt or low self-value, sleep or appetite disorder, low energy, and poor concentration (Dorland 1980). Pregnancy and childbirth would intensify the symptoms of depres- sion not only in women, but also in men to the same extent, insofar as depression and anxiety are the most widespread psychological disorder in men during prenatal and postna- tal periods (Ghafari et al. 2005). Pregnant women’s spouses are prone to prenatal depression in comparison with the pre-pregnancy period. Paternal depression should not be neglected while spouses are pregnant. The prevalence of depression symptoms among fathers expecting babies is almost 10% (Gawlik et al. 2014; Paulson and Bazemore 2010). The socio-psychological risk factors of this dis- order include unwanted pregnancy, poor social support, poor self-confdence, marital dissatisfaction, and confict between work and family life (Koh et al. 2014). Although maternal depression during pregnancy has been taken into Abstract Due to the harmful efects of prenatal and postnatal anxiety and depression on fathers, the aim of this study was to determine the impact of lifestyle-based training on paternal depression and anxiety (primary out- comes) during the prenatal and postnatal periods. This single-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was con- ducted on 126 spouses of pregnant women with gesta- tional ages of 24–28 weeks. They were followed up until 6 weeks after childbirth. Using the block randomization method and stratifed based on the number of children, the eligible samples were divided into two groups (one receiving two weekly group lifestyle-based training ses- sion (lasting 60–90 min) and a control group). Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were flled out by the participants before the intervention, 8 weeks after it, and 6 weeks after child- birth. The general linear model was used to analyze data. Out of 126 fathers, one individual from the intervention group left the study because he was not willing to cooper- ate. Compared with the control group, there was a signif- cant decrease in depression (adjusted diference: −1.6; 95% CI −2.8 to −0.5), state anxiety (−5.7; −8.6 to −2.9) and * Fovzieh Sanaati sanaati.favziye@gmail.com 1 Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 2 Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 3 Students’ Research Committee, Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 4 Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran