During labor and delivery, you need a partner who's 100 percent able to support you. Child labor and delivery can be a wild ride for the birthing person, and having the support of a loved one throughout can make for more than a good story.

Having a newborn after losing another is a unique experience filled with conflicting emotions.

Three weeks after their child was born, 28-year-old Tshepho Dlamini took his wife Lerato out to supper. For the first time since they were together, he felt like he was dining alone.

"My husband attended every appointment during the first and second trimester. During one visit, a nurse told him, 'You don’t really have to keep coming to these.'”

In early 2017, my husband and I sat in the OB-GYN’s office to confirm that we were pregnant with our first child. The room was littered with literature for new moms on birthing and breastfeeding classes, hospital tours and registration, and pamphlets on how to recognize postpartum depression. As we sat waiting for our ultrasound, my husband pointed out the lack of resources for men transitioning to life as new dads.

Family therapy typically refers to therapy treating all or most of a family as a unit. Families might see a therapist to stave off budding problems, such as growing tension or disconnection among family members. Or, they might need help with a specific challenge, such as dealing with a traumatic incident, a mental or physical health diagnosis, a difficult life change such as a job loss, divorce or death, addiction issues or caregiving, parenting or sibling conflicts.

As Mike*, a 30-year-old cable technician, walked out of the hospital with his newborn, he felt overwhelmed and inadequate.

Postpartum depression is most common among moms, but it can affect dads, too. In fact, research shows that around one in 10 fathers experiences depression in the year after their baby’s birth.