Introduction: Paternal perinatal depression (PPND) occurs in 10% of fathers, which implies an important burden for families and public health services. A better understanding of the population awareness on the topic is essential to adequately identify and adequately support these cases. Objective: This study aims to investigate the awareness, knowledge, and attitudes of the Brussels and Flemish-Brabant population in Belgium towards PPND, using the validated Depression in Dads (DDads) questionnaire. Methods: A two-strands descriptive study was conducted in the Brussels’ Capital Region and in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium between March-May 2020 and March-May 2021. The sample included 314 adults, aged 18-65 years, Flemish speaking, and living in the previously cited provinces. The DDads Questionnaire was administered online via LimeSurvey© (an encrypted and secured online data collection service) due to the COVID-19 social distancing measures. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS 28.0 SPSS© Statistics for Windows©. Ethical approval was obtained from the Brussels’ University Hospital and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) committees. Results: In the case of respondents, anxiousness was the most frequently cited mental health problem as experienced by men during their partners’ pregnancy (82.4%) and during the postnatal period (68.4%). Although well recognized as mental health issue, and as a general health concern, paternal depression had low recognition by respondents, and it was considered by 37.3% of them as being “normal” during the process of fatherhood. New personality traits such as (withdrawal, avoidance, isolation, indecision, or irritability, amongst others) were regarded as a common symptom of PPND by 64.6% of respondents. When asked about best ways of coping -in the case of paternal depression- non-pharmacological approaches were mostly preferred. In the case of experiencing PPND, the main advice was to ask for support from informal networks (family or friends) whilst professional support from ...