91涩漫

Top Takeaways is a series of recaps from important conversations, town halls, webinars and virtual events about early learning.

On Friday, July 10, the (CFRP) at the University of Texas at Austin presented a virtual event focused on fatherhood in Texas. The annual summit was reimagined this year as a series of online presentations titled 2020 Texas Fatherhood Fridays. and the sponsored the series.

Each year, the summit attracts public and private sector professionals seeking research-based best practices and innovations to, in the words of Cynthia Osborne, director of the CFRP, 鈥渓earn, share, improve services and support fathers and families.鈥� Dorothy J. Mandell, assistant public health professor for the University of Texas System, also took part in the discussion. Here are our five takeaways.

1. The perinatal period matters. Perinatal refers to the prenatal period, the time of birth and just thereafter. 鈥淭his is an important time for child development and bonding, Osborne stated. 鈥淲hen fathers are unengaged, that is a signal of risk. Fathers are needed from the start.鈥� Research shows an increased risk of negative outcomes for children and mothers when fathers are not present during the perinatal period.

2. Babies need legal fathers. Osborne鈥檚 studies pertain to the small percentage of kids where there is no paternity established. There are about one thousand babies born in Texas every day. For about half of those births, the parents are not legally married, meaning the biological father is not the legal father unless he establishes legal paternity.

About 75% of these unmarried fathers will establish paternity in the hospital at their child鈥檚 birth, which allows them to put their name of their child鈥檚 birth certificate and enjoy all of the rights and responsibilities of being a father. About 25% of the unmarried fathers will not attend their child鈥檚 birth, and 鈥渢hat ends up being about 125 kids a day with no legal father who is not involved in the child鈥檚 life early on. That is a signal that support is needed,鈥� asserts Osborne. 鈥淲e see a negative impact on health outcomes for children and an increase in complication with the pregnancy.鈥�

3. Risk factors do not exist in isolation. Dorothy Mandell鈥檚 presentation showed that an absentee father at this critical time often overlaps with other high-risk factors such as (IMR) and disconnection from prenatal care. When paternity is established, IMR is about 5 per one thousand births. When paternity is not established, IMR increases to about 8.5.

The same trend is seen with other risk factors. For instance, mothers with an established paternal partner are over three times more likely to access prenatal care than those without. In this case, paternity serves as a protective role and encourages healthy habits, like wellness checks during pregnancy.

Mandell illustrated how 鈥渨hen paternity is established, the good things are better,鈥� and discussed how we get to make the good things better. To start, she and her colleagues have developed the Father鈥檚 Playbook, an app specifically for guys in response to the lack of information for men whose partners are expecting a baby.

4. Harness the power of inclusion. It is important to note that the research does not point to a causal relationship between the father not being there at birth and these negative risk factors. Osborne hones this point, saying, 鈥淭he birth absence is an indication of bigger problems, and those problems inform the results.鈥�

There are various reasons a dad wouldn鈥檛 be in the picture, and sometimes those circumstances are out of parents鈥� control. Mandell and Osborne suggest the following interventions to provide the support needed, as legal rights allow dads to make decisions regarding the child, access medical records and generally promote well-being.

• Provide resources to address unplanned pregnancies, such as birth plans and contraception
• Educate and empower providers to welcome and include fathers at appointments
• Provide tools and resources to help the dad with the fatherhood journey
  

5. More research is warranted. We know that pregnancy affects men biologically, socially and emotionally, and that they want to be involved. The fact is that men feel underprepared when the baby is born, and they struggle with postnatal depression and anxiety too.

The research Osborne and Mandell shared was enlightening, but there are still a lot of gaps in the picture. 鈥淭he first thing I would do is measure more,鈥� Mandell admits. 鈥淲e measure what we value and fathers are valued in this journey.鈥�

听

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 91涩漫. Learn more here.