Midwives and child health nurses’ support is associated with positive coparenting for fathers of infants: A cross‐sectional analysis

Abstract

Aims and objectives:To examine if the professional support that fathers received from midwives and child health nurses was associated with improvements in fathers' coparenting. A secondary aim was to investigate if there were any support differences between fathers based on parity.Background: Stronger coparenting is associated with improved maternal, paternal and child health. It is unclear if routine prenatal and postnatal professional support is associated with improved coparenting in fathers of infants.Design: Cross-sectional online survey. Methods:In total, 612 fathers of infants (aged 0-24 months) completed baseline data between November 2018 and March 2020. Socio-demographics, pregnancy control variables, social support, professional support, being invited to attend and attending three specific visits for fathers, respectively, and the fathers' coparenting relationship, using the Brief Coparenting Relationship Scale, were assessed. The STROBE checklist was used as the reporting guideline for this study.Results: Fathers' attendance at child health visits, support from the prenatal and postnatal midwife, respectively, and total support from the child health nurse, are associated with more positive coparenting. Primiparous fathers reported more received social and professional support, as well as a more positive coparenting relationship than multiparous fathers. Conclusions:Receiving clinical support from both midwives and child health nurses is associated with fathers' positive coparenting. All fathers should be invited and encouraged to attend prenatal, postnatal and child health visits to further support their coparenting relationship. Relative to primiparous fathers, multiparous fathers may require targeted and additional clinical support regarding their coparenting relationship.Relevance to clinical practice: With fathers becoming more involved in childrearing, having stronger coparenting skills can help them better adapt to their parental roles.

The Impact of the New Families Home Visiting Program on Depressive Symptoms Among Norwegian Fathers Postpartum: A Nonrandomized Controlled Study

“…These findings indicate that the intervention did not reach all the parents or fathers. Studies suggest that fathers are not always informed or invited to participate during home visits ( Høgmo et al, 2021 ), and, therefore, might need a specific invitation to attend home visits and the CHS ( Wells et al, 2023 ). Early service use might influence their further engagement with the service and thus increase their opportunity for receiving support ( Finlayson et al, 2023 ).…”