One in six mothers reported significant depressive symptoms at either the antenatal interview or when their children were nine months old.

One in eight experienced antenatal depression symptoms with one in 12 experiencing symptoms postnatally.

Study author Dr Lisa Underwood said that while maternal antenatal and postnatal depression were recognized and known to be associated with poor outcomes for women and children, little had been done to identify perinatal depression symptoms in men.

"Increasingly, we are becoming aware of the influence that fathers have on their children's psychosocial and cognitive development," Underwood said in a statement.

"Given the potential for paternal depression to have direct and indirect effects on children, it is important that we recognize and treat symptoms among fathers early," she said.

"Arguably, the first step in doing this is to raise awareness about factors that lead to increased risks among fathers themselves."