The COVID-19 lockdown has led to a dramatic 58 per cent increase in unpaid childcare undertaken by men, according to data gathered by
the Government’s Office for National Statistics. Men’s childcare, rising since the 1960s, is at its highest since records began and possibly in almost 200 years, since the Industrial Revolution took most men out of the home and entrenched a gendered division of labour. Men’s working hours have fallen by 11% - a drop of 1 hour and 37 minutes per day including travelling time - on average during lockdown, according to the ONS data. This suggests that men could retain their lockdown level of increased childcare if they gained about half a day through commuting less and working more from home, and if they also cut a couple of hours from their working week. Read the full story »
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On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man was killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest for allegedly using a fake $20 note in a shop.
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We have been invited by the House of Commons Petitions Committee, to feed into its exploration of whether or not to extend maternity leave for 3 months in response to the Covid-19 lockdown[1].
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Adrienne Burgess writes…
Reflecting on the process of industrialisation in Britain from the mid-nineteenth century, the historical demographer Peter Laslett wrote: “The most important of all the effects on the family group of the process of modernisation has undoubtedly been the physical removal from the household of the father and other earners for all of every working day .
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Mark Gatto is a working parent (PhD and Research Assistant at Northumbria School of Law and Business School) who is caring for his 14 month old son alongside his wife, who works as a doctor in the NHS.
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We have been asked to comment on this story about claims that fathers are using an Edinburgh maternity ward ‘like a hotel’.
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Adrienne Burgess writes:
NHS ENGLAND announced via a press release (2 December 2018) that when an expectant/new mother’s mental health has been identified as poor, a mental health assessment and relevant referrals are to be offered to her partner.
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The Government’s proposed First 1000 Days strategy should include, as a priority, the provision of detailed guidance to ensure that pre-conception, maternity and post-natal services reach out to, engage with and support expectant and new fathers.
FI research »
Messages from Research – updated August 2010
1. The father’s role in mothers’ depression
The evidence that impaired postnatal maternal mental health has adverse effects on the infant socially, emotionally, behaviourally and cognitively is extensive (e.g.