Sheffield dad speaks out about his PTSD to help other new fathers seek help
A Sheffield dad, who got PTSD from the premature birth of his twins, wants it to be easier for new dads to come forward when they're struggling with their mental health
A Sheffield dad, who suffered PTSD after his twins were born prematurely, says new fathers need to know more about how childbirth could affect their mental health.
Ben Orrah's kids were born 2 months early, leaving him with anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress after doctors had to fight to save their lives.
Stats show more than a third of new dads worry about their mental health.
It took a while for Ben to tell anyone he was struggling - he now wants more information given to new dads about post-natal mental health problems:
"I was having nightmares that were waking me up and shaking me a lot and felt quite real. Bouts of sobbing - quite raw, emotional sobbing - it was just getting worse and worse and worse.
"I didn't feel at the time I can really speak to anyone. I had my wife - I felt she had enough on, she'd gone through the birth and labour, for me to sit there moaning about how I'm struggling to mentally to deal with things. I'm thinking I need to be strong for her because she's getting on with this every day - I need to get on with this.
"Eventually my wife caught me sobbing one morning. I was trying to hide it and she said something's not right and I came clean."
Ben now wants more information given to dads-to-be about how their mental health can suffer as well as the mother's.
He says during scans and classes - the emphasis was on the women:
"Post-natal depression was mentioned in mothers so we were given that information - but there weren't any leaflets or anything about how men's health can suffer. I think if I'd had some pre-information saying it's very common that this can happen in men as well I think maybe that would have given me a bit more heads up that I'm feeling this way for a reason.
"If only I could have found something, or somebody had spoken out about it then, I would have felt a lot better and known it was something I had every right to feel. It was an illness. I think I'd have got help a little bit sooner."
Ben's raising money for the unit that supported his twins when they were born prematurely with a gig at Corporation tomorrow -which is World Prematurity Day.
There's more information here.