Dads have a critical impact on babies, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, fathers face significant extra challenges.
Many dads are being excluded from NHS appointments, scans or early labour, and access to health visitors or other family support is limited.
That's why we're teaming up with Best Beginnings to run small online groups for dads, under a Barnardo's programme funded by the Department for Education.
Each group will meet weekly, online, for three sessions with two experienced facilitators. These friendly sessions will connect you to other dads during the pandemic, and give you top tips for managing stress, taking care of yourself and your baby's mum, birth, bonding with your baby, breastfeeding, finances and your relationship. 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.
News, Policy »
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.