When a New Dad Skips the Leave He Wanted
In a survey of 4,290 Ohio fathers, 6.6% screened positive for recent depression symptoms and 11% for anxiety. Fathers who wanted leave and did not take it had about three times the odds of each.
The baby is asleep on his chest. The envelope on the table is still sealed.
Craig Garfield, a pediatrician at Lurie Children's in Chicago who studies new fathers, used Ohio's Fatherhood Survey: 4,290 fathers, asked in 2022 and 2023, after a birth. The paper came out in the American Journal of Public Health in June 2026.
On a short depression screen, 6.6% showed recent symptoms. On the anxiety screen, 11% did. Most of these fathers had still taken some paid time off.
Fathers who wanted the time and did not take it had about three times the odds of depression symptoms, and about three times the odds of anxiety. Among the fathers who were struggling, money was the reason they named most often.
What the week looked like
A little more than half, 54%, took paid leave. Another 22% took unpaid leave.
Nine percent mixed paid and unpaid days. Fifteen percent took no leave at all.
Ohio has no statewide paid family leave program. State employees can get up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. For everyone else, the days at home are whatever the job, or the savings, will cover.
The week he skipped
Fathers on unpaid leave had about 58% higher odds of anxiety symptoms than fathers on paid leave. The range on that number starts at no difference.
Northwestern's summary of the study describes a larger gap: fathers who wanted the leave and did not take it. They had about three times the odds of depression symptoms, and about three times the odds of anxiety symptoms.
Among the fathers who already screened positive, money was the obstacle they named most often. About three in four of those with depression symptoms said so. About seven in ten of those with anxiety symptoms did too.
A father who is already anxious may also be the one who cannot afford to stay home. The survey was taken once, so it cannot say which came first.
Ask which week it was
If he is flat, or short with you, in the first months, ask a practical question. Was the leave paid, unpaid, or a week he wanted and skipped because the bills were due?
If he was raised to show love by not missing work, an unpaid week can feel like failing, even while he is holding the baby.
If the answer is money, start with the bill. If he is in crisis, call or text 988.