‘I experienced postnatal depression and burn out returning to work 2 weeks after my baby was born’

Ruari Kennedy has said the statutory entitlement to paternity leave in the UK led him to be depressed

A London paramedic has spoken about how he experienced postnatal depression after returning to work soon after becoming a dad. Ruari Kennedy, 29, spoke about how, after his wife had to undergo an emergency C-section and with no family nearby to help, the couple were left trying to manage the demands of a newborn as well as her recovery.

Yet, due to the UK’s statutory paternity leave entitlement, Ruari returned to 12-hour frontline ambulance shifts just two weeks later. Ruari told MyLondon: “Six weeks in, I was burnt out at work and definitely experiencing symptoms of postnatal depression.

“I personally feel that had paternity leave been longer, I would have had more time to adjust to these life-altering events and felt as if I could be there more in those early weeks. Working as a paramedic, going straight back into work after two weeks, wasn’t enough. I was burnt out, and then I had to take three months after my son was born to feel a bit more like myself.

“My wife and I are both from Belfast and have no family over. Those two weeks of paternity leave were spent with me trying to look after a newborn baby, trying to bond, and doing everything for my wife; instead, I didn’t get the chance”.

“I felt awful when there were days I couldn’t be my ‘normal self’. I felt I was letting the baby and my wife down, which obviously did not help the depression.”

Ruari took part in a campaign alongside Movember and paternity leave campaigners The Dad Shift to call for urgent reform of the UK’s paternity leave system, which is the worst in Europe.

In the UK, fathers are entitled to just 2 weeks’ leave, paid at £194.32 per week – less than half the minimum wage, and the worst offer in Europe, where the average is 8 weeks. Ruari and other fathers are calling on the government to give fathers six weeks of statutory paternity leave at 90 per cent pay.

“If paternity leave were six weeks, it would have given me ample time for my wife to recover and me to look after and bond with my son better. I’m hoping we can end up with six weeks of paternity leave, 2 weeks, being paid less than minimum wage, a lot of new dads miss out on those vital moments in their child’s lives. This event was the first time ever we got a group of dads who were ready to speak up and say enough is enough – we need better paternity leave and come together to make a change.”

“I do not think I’d have burnt out, been depressed, and be off work”, he continued.

Campaigners want six weeks of statutory paternity leave

The campaign kicked off ahead of Men’s Health Week (15–21 June) and Father’s Day (June 21). With three fifths of Britons (60%) warning that quality time with children is becoming something only wealthy parents can afford, Movember and The Dad Shift are calling on the government to move immediately to six weeks of statutory paternity leave at 90% pay (capped), with two weeks taken at birth and the remaining four weeks available to take any time in the first year.

Movember and The Dad Shift are calling on the public to kick up a fuss for better paternity leave – find out more information and sign the petition here