Vol 7 Issue 1
Focus on Fathers
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Supporting fathers’ mental health
- Apps that reach out to dads
- Seeing and caring for the ‘invisible’ fathers
- How fathers support mothers
- Preparing fathers for labour and birth
- Helping fathers cope with sleep deprivation
- Global Fatherhood Charter
- Promoting fathers’ engagement across the world
Author: Richard Fletcher
Author title: Associate Professor and Head of the Fathers and Families Research Program
Description: The details of a father-inclusive approach to perinatal mental health are far from clear but the rationale and the goal are not in doubt: helping sad dads is vital. Supporting fathers across the perinatal period can increase family wellbeing, protect the important role of fathers in parenting and contribute to better child development.
Description writer: Associate Professor and Head of the Fathers and Families Research Program at The University of Newcastle, Australia
Author: Jeremy Davies
Author title: Head of Communications
Description: How many gay fathers are there in the UK and elsewhere and who are they? How do educators, midwives and early years’ practitioners engage with them? What information do they want and how might services better meet their needs?
Description writer: Head of Communications at the Fatherhood Institute, UK
TAG: Fathers
Author: Rebecca Moore
Author title: Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist, UK, and Co-Founder of Make Birth Better
Description: How can we support fathers to feel well prepared for birth and afterwards? Fathers need to feel involved and informed at every stage of pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. At present, they often feel excluded and lacking in father-focused information.
Description writer: Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist, UK, and Co-Founder of Make Birth Better
TAG: Mental Health, Fathers
Author: Karen Wynter
Author title: Research Fellow
Description: The limited existing research on parental sleep is mostly focused on mothers. Regardless of the arrangements around sharing the infant care workload, both parents are likely to be affected by poor sleep and fatigue.
Description writer: Research Fellow, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Deakin University, and Centre for Quality and Patient Safety Research – Western Health Partnership, Australia
TAG: Fathers
Author: Chris May, Richard Fletcher
Author title: Richard Fletcher, Associate Professor,
Description: The role of fathers in providing emotional, practical and functional support to mothers across the perinatal period has largely been overlooked. Clinicians have an opportunity to scaffold fathers’ efforts in providing support.
Description writer: Chris May, Fathers and Families Research Program, Family Action Centre, The University of Newcastle, Australia
Richard Fletcher, Associate Professor, Fathers and Families Research Program, Brain and Mental Health Priority Research Centre, The University of Newcastle, Australia
TAG: Fathers
Author: Becky K. White, Jane A. Scott
Description: This article summarizes the current state of play of perinatal father-focused mobile apps, including a case study of a breastfeeding app for fathers.
Description writer: Becky K. White, School of Public Health, Curtin University, Australia. Jane A. Scott, School of Public Health, Curtin University, Australia
TAG: Fathers
Author: Brian Russell
Description: The Super Dads Super Kids program is based on activity, play, and exploration, and covers parenting topics such as the role of a father, communication, emotional health, discipline and setting limits.
Description writer: Brian Russell, Provincial Coordinator, Dad Central Ontario, Canada
Description: The Global Fatherhood Charter was drafted in consultation with 21 leading child development researchers across the world, to help clarify the issues for all those supporting fatherhood in child development across the world: parents, practitioners and policy makers
Author: Melanie Swan, Kate Doyle, Senior Program Officer, Rudy Broers
Author title: Melanie Swan, Global Technical Lead for Early Childhood Development, Plan International
Kate Doyle, Senior Program Officer, Promundo
Rudy Broers, Director - Monitoring, Evaluation & Research, Program Effectiveness and Quality, Plan Canada
Description: While men’s engagement in early childhood development is gaining policy momentum, operationalization of these objectives will require consideration of the various barriers and obstacles that exist to men’s engagement in the care and development of young children, in different contexts.
Description writer: Melanie Swan, Global Technical Lead for Early Childhood Development, Plan International
Kate Doyle, Senior Program Officer, Promundo
Rudy Broers, Director - Monitoring, Evaluation & Research, Program Effectiveness and Quality, Plan Canada
TAG: Fathers
Author: Mark Williams
Description: Mark Williams explains how his personal experience of living with postnatal depression in 2004 motivated him to write his book and to reach out to other fathers.
Description writer: International Fathers’ Mental Health Campaigner and author of ‘Daddy Blues’
