The Family Initiative has been tracking and reporting on research on fathers in neonatal care since 2015 on FamilyIncluded.com. It became apparent that some interesting and new ideas were emerging in newly published articles. In response to this, the Family Initiative approached all the authors and proposed a joint effort to report on all the new evidence.
We have since published an article in the Journal of Neonatal Nursing - Fathers in neonatal units: Improving infant health by supporting the baby-father bond and mother-father co-parenting.
This discusses the findings from 50 pieces of research in recent years on fathers in neonatal units.
The principle finding is that understanding and supporting father-infant attachment and supporting co-parenting improves the health of the baby and helps both parents to care for the baby and for each other.
RESEARCH REVIEW
ENGAGING FATHERS ONLINE CPD COURSE
This course explores how engaging fathers in maternal and newborn health can improve health outcomes for mothers and babies. Our course is split into 3x 1.5 hour interactive webinar sessions delivered by our experienced trainers and midwives:
1) Introduction, Policy Context and Women’s Rights Framework
2) Fathers' Motivations, Biology of Fatherhood, Health Outcomes and Evidence
3) Practice and Overcoming Barriers
This course is fully accredited by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in the UK
and upon completion you will gain a certificate towards your registered CPD hours.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The aims of the course are:
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To understand engaging with fathers in a framework of the rights of the pregnant woman / new mother.
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To understand the current international and national policy context around engaging fathers in maternal and newborn health.
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To understand the motivations & needs of fathers and how to educate others to support mother and baby.
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To understand the biological and neurobiological changes that affect how fathers respond to mothers and babies including how to use this knowledge to encourage positive contributions to health.
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To be introduced to the global evidence linking father engagement with improved health outcomes for mother and baby (breastfeeding, mental health, nutrition etc).
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To identify practical steps both in individual practice, and also in the design of the service as a whole, that lead to a “partnership of care” between family and professionals.
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To understand the barriers that make father and family inclusive care difficult to introduce and sustain and how to overcome them.
FEEDBACK FROM LEARNERS
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"Chatty informal style."
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"The depth of information."
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"It taught me more about the father’s role in maternity and resources I can give to fathers."
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"Results from studies."
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"Loved the hormonal changes for men detail."
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"Re-awakened me to the importance of father's inclusion!"
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"It was great to get a different perspective!"
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"How the information was so relevant to my practice."
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"Easy to follow, engaging and interactive."