MaternityInformation for midwives, paediatricians, obstetricians and other professionals working in the maternity services: helping expectant fathers to support their pregnant partners, and supporting new fathers in the transition to parenthood.
FI research » Maternity
Blog » Maternity
Blog » Maternity
Jeremy Davies writes (this blog first appeared on Huffington Post UK):
OK, we get it. Maternity services: the clue’s in the name.
Practice » Maternity
Bringing Fathers In is a series of smart, punchy, evidence-based information sheets backed up with a series of online research summaries.
Policy » Maternity
The Fatherhood Institute is pledging its support to the 1001 Critical Days campaign – relaunched in the UK Parliament this week by a cross-party group of MPs.
External research » Maternity
Are you (or is somebody you know) a first-time father? Researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, are interested in exploring first-time fathers’ experiences of labour and childbirth.
FI research » Maternity
The problem
23% of 3-year-olds are overweight or obese (Hawkins et al, 2009), rising to one third of 11-13 year olds, one in six of whom have high blood pressure, and one in ten, high cholesterol (Brophy et al, 2012)
The Father Factor – the early years
95% of parents are in a couple relationship or describe themselves as ‘good friends’ at the time of the birth (Kiernan & Smith, 2003)
Fathers have substantial impact on pregnant women’s nutrition (Clift-Matthews, 2009)
Fathers gain weight during pregnancy, mainly due to lifestyle factors (Onepoll, 2009)
Fathers have substantial impact on whether babies are breastfed, and breastfed babies are less likely to be obese later (Armstrong et al, 2002)
Toddlers’ activity levels are linked with their father’s (but not their mother’s) BMI (Sallis et al, 1988).
Blog » Maternity
Jeremy Davies writes:
This morning we were contacted by a radio journalist who wanted us to comment on a study suggesting that, and I quote, “it might be best for dads not to be present at the birth of their children”.