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.
Kay, Thank you for sharing that. Yes, we need to get information out to fathers about safe sleep practices! What might be some places and sites that dad's go to that we could target for sharing information?
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.
Thank you for sharing this. Let me look into self efficacy and dads/partners. Have you you shared the list on substack? It sounds like a great reflection and information point.
Jul 20, 2023·edited Jul 20, 2023Liked by Dr. Cara Goodwin, PhD
Thank you for this post! Dads are also so important, and we should continue to educate them about caregiving. Even if their partner is, let's say, a stay-at-home mom, I think education at the least is super important! This article just goes to show that we should include more fathers in studies and get good information out there about breastfeeding, safe sleep practices, and other important matters! :)
I'm so surprised by the low number of dads practicing safe sleep! It goes to show how important it is to continue educating people on safe sleep, especially working on outreach & education for fathers. Dads are so important--I hope that research like this encourages fathers to take active interest in aspects of parenting not traditionally related to the father, like breastfeeding.
I was very surprised by that number as well particularly as I thought about all of the PSAs that have been done about it. I wonder if we need to think about updated places to "advertise" about safe sleeping.
We have so little research on fathers I was excited to see this study and hoped that you would review it! I love your parent handout on fathers. It is at this link if others have not read it (https://parentingtranslator.org/parent-resources/researchonfathers) and there is also a newsletter you did on fathers if you look back in the inventory. I just wish there was more research on single parents and same sex couples.
While this study is helpful in understanding the importance of partner support, I find the wording "fathers that wanted their infant to be breastfed" to be problematic. I clicked on the study to see if it was worded in a more nuanced way, like "fathers who supported their partner's choice to breastfeed," but from their two response choices, it seemed not so. Breastfeeding is a wonderful experience that promotes infant help and mother-infant bonding, but it can also be incredibly difficult, painful, and unproductive for some. During my just two days in the hospital, I had cracked and bleeding nipples that required a prescription cream. Later I had a less-common nerve reaction connected to letdown reflex called vasospasms. My daughter was finicky and had trouble latching, so I often had to change positions or stand and bounce while nursing her. I loved the experience so much when all the stars aligned and it worked well, so I actually continued (while pumping bottles and supplementing with formula) for about a year, and I'm glad I did. But it was TOUGH. My husband was amazing and supported my choice to continue or to quit, always reminding me, "don't drive yourself crazy."
The wording of "fathers who want their infant breastfed" makes me envision fathers who want that and push that regardless of the challenges and desires of mom and baby. I pictures fathers who say "breast is best" and don't care about bleeding nipples and mastitis and the emotional toll. I think this study and the way it's being touted has the potential to be a dangerous tool for men to just have control over their partners and their partner's bodies. I KNOW the point is fatherly (or partner) support. But in my opinion, a man's opinion over breastfeeding is pretty much irrelevant unless the answer is "I'll support my partner." To breastfeed or not to breastfeed should be up to the birthing/feeding momma. Full stop.
(This is all regarding the breastfeeding piece, not the safe sleep practices, which is super important for both parents to know!)
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.
Kay, Thank you for sharing that. Yes, we need to get information out to fathers about safe sleep practices! What might be some places and sites that dad's go to that we could target for sharing information?
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.
Thank you for sharing this. Let me look into self efficacy and dads/partners. Have you you shared the list on substack? It sounds like a great reflection and information point.
This is a great idea for a post! Thanks so much for the suggestion.
Looking forward to seeing it!
Thank you for this post! Dads are also so important, and we should continue to educate them about caregiving. Even if their partner is, let's say, a stay-at-home mom, I think education at the least is super important! This article just goes to show that we should include more fathers in studies and get good information out there about breastfeeding, safe sleep practices, and other important matters! :)
I'm so surprised by the low number of dads practicing safe sleep! It goes to show how important it is to continue educating people on safe sleep, especially working on outreach & education for fathers. Dads are so important--I hope that research like this encourages fathers to take active interest in aspects of parenting not traditionally related to the father, like breastfeeding.
I was very surprised by that number as well particularly as I thought about all of the PSAs that have been done about it. I wonder if we need to think about updated places to "advertise" about safe sleeping.
We have so little research on fathers I was excited to see this study and hoped that you would review it! I love your parent handout on fathers. It is at this link if others have not read it (https://parentingtranslator.org/parent-resources/researchonfathers) and there is also a newsletter you did on fathers if you look back in the inventory. I just wish there was more research on single parents and same sex couples.
Thank you for sharing that research. I agree we need more research on all family structures!
Thank you for sharing. I am so glad the new research alerts are so helpful.
While this study is helpful in understanding the importance of partner support, I find the wording "fathers that wanted their infant to be breastfed" to be problematic. I clicked on the study to see if it was worded in a more nuanced way, like "fathers who supported their partner's choice to breastfeed," but from their two response choices, it seemed not so. Breastfeeding is a wonderful experience that promotes infant help and mother-infant bonding, but it can also be incredibly difficult, painful, and unproductive for some. During my just two days in the hospital, I had cracked and bleeding nipples that required a prescription cream. Later I had a less-common nerve reaction connected to letdown reflex called vasospasms. My daughter was finicky and had trouble latching, so I often had to change positions or stand and bounce while nursing her. I loved the experience so much when all the stars aligned and it worked well, so I actually continued (while pumping bottles and supplementing with formula) for about a year, and I'm glad I did. But it was TOUGH. My husband was amazing and supported my choice to continue or to quit, always reminding me, "don't drive yourself crazy."
The wording of "fathers who want their infant breastfed" makes me envision fathers who want that and push that regardless of the challenges and desires of mom and baby. I pictures fathers who say "breast is best" and don't care about bleeding nipples and mastitis and the emotional toll. I think this study and the way it's being touted has the potential to be a dangerous tool for men to just have control over their partners and their partner's bodies. I KNOW the point is fatherly (or partner) support. But in my opinion, a man's opinion over breastfeeding is pretty much irrelevant unless the answer is "I'll support my partner." To breastfeed or not to breastfeed should be up to the birthing/feeding momma. Full stop.
(This is all regarding the breastfeeding piece, not the safe sleep practices, which is super important for both parents to know!)