Postpartum Blues Made Me Violent, Says Broadway Producer - East Idaho News

Postpartum Blues Made Me Violent, Says Broadway Producer

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GETTY H 110711 DepressedDadJPG?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1331047676824Jupiterimages/Thinkstock (file photo)(NEW YORK) — Eric Nederlander, a Broadway producer with a history of disputes with the women in his life, claims that postpartum depression caused him to act violently against his wife.

Lindsey Kupferman, his second wife, got a restraining order against him for violent behavior in 2008, and he claims in divorce papers obtained by The New York Post that he suffered from the baby blues after the birth of their daughter Mira.

Nederlander, 46, allegedly threatened to “smash” Kupferman’s face when she was nursing their 1-month-old daughter and tore apart baby announcements after raging over credit card bills, the newspaper reports.

Later, he explained his actions in an e-mail to Kupferman, saying “male post-partum depression is probably something I’m going through,” according to the documents obtained by the Post.

Male postpartum depression is “absolutely a legitimate condition — there is no doubt about that,” said psychologist Will Courtenay of Oakland, Calif., who is known as “The Men’s Doc.”

But, he warned, it is no excuse for violence — in fact, he said, men already prone to outbursts are at greater risk for postpartum depression.

The blues can come out in irritability and anger, as well as physical aggression and lack of impulse control, according to Courtenay.

“A lot of men don’t act on it, but have fears of hurting their babies or partners,” he said.  “Some men do act on those feelings.”

Kupferman, who is a psychologist, filed for divorce at the end of 2007, according to her lawyer at the time, Robert G. Smith.

Smith told ABC News that he was “unauthorized” to speak about the case, but confirmed that Nederlander had been accused of domestic violence and the divorce is still pending.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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