Support for fathers and fatherhood at maternity and child health clinics . Helsinki 2008. 78 pp. (Reports of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland, ISSN 1236-2115; 2008:24)
ISBN 978-952-00-2618-9 (pb), ISBN 978-952-00-2619-6 (PDF)

Maternity and child health clinics have already for a long time paid attention to supporting parenthood. However, the role of men has gained less attention. So far some fathers have felt themselves more as outsiders at the maternity and child welfare clinics than as active participators. Even a part of the personnel have experienced it challenging to encounter fathers. In the early 1990s, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has discussed support for fathers in, inter alia, the Report of the Committee on Fatherhood, a handbook on the father’s role at the maternity and child welfare clinic as well as a guidebook on child health clinics.

As there is only little information on a national scale regarding support for fathers, a survey was conducted with the aim of describing the practices at maternity and child health clinics, the abilities of the nurses to support fathers as well as the development needs of the work with fathers. The material was compiled in 2006 with the help of a web-based questionnaire directed at all the maternity and child health clinics in Finland. A total of 421 clinics responded.

The results show that increasing attention has been paid to the support for fathers at the clinics. Fathers’ visits at the maternity and child health clinics have clearly increased during the last five years. A majority of the nurses were aware of the significance of supporting fathers, they felt that support for fathers is a natural part of their work, and they assessed that they had succeeded in supporting fathers satisfactorily. The most common way to reach fathers was to provide information orally. More than a third of the nurses had evening reception, which is important for reaching fathers. Most of the nurses paid a home visit after the childbirth and made sure that the father was at home during the visit. Most fathers participated in prenatal training. Organisation of groups for fathers only was rare. The contents of the work to support fathers were diverse. Key issues included parenthood, the father’s relationship with the child and support for the role of the father. Health centre management did not give adequate support for fathers’ activities, although this was considered a prerequisite for developing the support for fathers. Every fifth health centre had made plans regarding support for fathers.

The majority of the nurses felt that their abilities to support fathers were completely or nearly adequate. Nevertheless, two thirds of the nurses hoped for more training and more material. During five years, the maternal and child health clinics have developed in a positive direction from the father’s viewpoint. It is of concern, however, that there seems to be notable differences between the clinics with regard to support for fathers. This constitutes inequality especially from the fathers’ but also from the families’ point of view.

The increasing number of fathers who take their child to the child health clinic shows that men are increasingly committed to the child and parenthood. The participation of fathers also poses challenges for the staff with regard to meeting the fathers as men and parents distinct from the mothers. Increasing the participation of men requires not only more flexible maternity and child health services but also the development of work and family life from the viewpoint of families with children. The maternity and child health clinics should develop father-inclusive approaches, training for the staff as well as more male-friendly environment and culture at the clinics. Cooperation with other municipal bodies as well as organisations brings about more staff and better expertise. Focus on families must be redefined to include also fathers. Many men, especially those expecting their first child, need extra encouragement and a lower threshold for visiting the clinics for example with the help of a personal invitation or other form of getting in touch with the father.

Support for fathers requires commitment and active work from the health centre management to create conditions for this work necessary for the child and the family. The Development and Research Centre for Maternity and Child Health Care is preparing a continuing education module and a series of seminars discussing support for fathers. It is also compiling material on fathers to its webpage as well as developing the role of fathers in prenatal training.

The clinics must adopt a more gender sensitive approach that takes into consideration both fathers and mothers as well as boys and girls. Such an approach enhances the equality of both sexes as well as the realisation of shared parenthood, and thus even the wellbeing of the child and the entire family. Considering fathers as both men and fathers is one of the contentual challenges facing the maternity and child welfare clinics in the near future.

Keywords : child health clinic, father, fatherhood, maternity clinic, public health nurse, support for fatherhood