New Study Alert: Dads Really Do Matter
A recent study finds that dads have a big impact on breastfeeding success and safe sleep
This newsletter is part of a New Study Alert series on recent studies that I think have an important and clear takeaway message for your life as a parent. This one in particular explains why it is important for fathers to be knowledgeable and involved parents. If you know a father in your life who you think might enjoy or benefit from the Parenting Translator newsletter, you can share the newsletter with them through the button below.
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A study published in June 2023 in the journal Pediatrics found that fathers may be key in whether breast-feeding is successful and whether babies sleep in safe environments.
For decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conducted a survey of mothers called the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (or PRAMS) to identify risks to infants before, during, and after pregnancy. In more recent years, the mothers who completed this assessment would repeatedly ask that they include fathers in their survey so a research team developed the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) for Dads
Their initial survey included 250 fathers who were surveyed 2 to 6 months after the birth of their child. They were asked both about breastfeeding and safe sleep practices.
Breastfeeding
86% of fathers reported that their infant attempted breastfeeding yet only 63% reported that their infant was still breastfeeding at 8 weeks.
It really seemed to matter whether fathers encouraged breastfeeding. For fathers that reported that they wanted their infant to breastfeed, 95% attempted breastfeeding and 78% were still breastfeeding at 9 weeks. For fathers that reported that they did not want their infant to breastfeed or had no opinion, 69% attempted breastfeeding and 33% were still breastfeeding at 8 weeks.
This finding supports a previous finding that the “father’s feelings about breastfeeding versus bottle-feeding” was the primary reason that women chose to bottle-feed.
Safe Sleep Practices
99% of fathers reported that they put their baby down to sleep, yet only 16% of fathers followed safe sleep practices recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (these include placing the infant on their back to sleep, using only approved sleep surfaces for infants, and avoiding soft bedding, blankets, and stuffed animals). 81% of fathers put their infant to sleep on their back but only 32% put them down on an approved sleep surface and only 44% avoiding soft bedding, blankets, and stuffed animals.
Limitations
This study had some important limitations, including a very low response rate (only 31.7% of fathers asked to complete the survey actually did so) and a relatively small sample size (only 250 fathers). In addition, they did not control for the mothers’ attitudes towards breastfeeding and knowledge of safe sleep so it is unclear the extent to which fathers are influenced by mothers.
Overall Translation
This study suggests that it may be important for fathers to educate themselves about the benefits of breastfeeding and safe sleep. Here are some resources that might be helpful for fathers:
Kellymom has a page of resources on breastfeeding just for fathers.
WIC also has a page for dads on supporting breastfeeding.
The NIH has a page on safe sleep information for fathers and the CDC has further information for all caregivers.
If you are (or know) a father who is interested in reading the research behind breastfeeding and safe sleep, check out my newsletter on breastfeeding or my newsletter on the most recent American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep guidelines.
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Welcome to the Parenting Translator newsletter! I am Dr. Cara Goodwin, a licensed psychologist with a PhD in child psychology and mother to three children (currently a 3-year-old, 5-year-old, and 7-year-old). I specialize in taking all of the research that is out there related to parenting and child development and turning it into information that is accurate, relevant, and useful for parents! I recently turned these efforts into a non-profit organization since I believe that all parents deserve access to unbiased and free information. This means that I am only here to help YOU as a parent so please send along any feedback, topic suggestions, or questions that you have! You can also find me on Instagram @parentingtranslator, on TikTok @parentingtranslator, and my website (www.parentingtranslator.com).
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A friend that recently became a father was telling me how he couldn’t wait to decorate the crib with stuffed animals. Thank you for this, such perfect timing! I will make sure to send it to him right away.
Hooray for research studying fathers! This reminds me of when I wrote a “list of things dads can do” in my first week postpartum, in a fit of pique, because my husband had been told over and over again by Gen X/Boomer dads that there’s “not much to do” for dads in the early newborn days, and this seemed patently ridiculous, if not totally irresponsible, when we were actually thrust into things like dealing with breastfeeding and baby sleep. My husband’s involvement was a critical factor in both. We now share the list we made with all new parent friends.
This also makes me wonder how narratives about this time become self-fulfilling prophecies if dads aren’t using their critical thinking skills to examine these “not much to do” claims vis a vis the evidence. It also makes me think about the research in my education world about self-efficacy vs learned helplessness. People who believe they can and should learn to be good at something, and who are affirmed in this by trusted mentors, usually end up doing that. People who don’t believe they can or should be good at it… aren’t. I’d be curious to know what research exists on self efficacy in dads regarding care tasks vis a vis their involvement in those tasks, and the outcomes for mothers and kids regarding all of that.