Fathers - Their changing role and evolving support needs

The role of fathers has changed significantly over the last hundred years. Historically, fathers were the breadwinners of the family, usually with little time or input in caring for their young children. My own father worked long hours to earn the money to feed and clothe the family. He was not involved, nor was he expected to be, with looking after his young children.

Years later, during my obstetric placement in Liverpool in the late Sixties, fathers were never present in the delivery room and, in the television programme Call the Midwife, fathers were excluded from the room in their own homes when their wives were giving birth. Many changes have taken place since the 1960s and fathers are now there to support their partners during their pregnancy, attend ultrasound scans, be present during labour and the birth of their baby, and help with ongoing childcare. There are many reasons for all the changes, including fathers’ desires to be more involved, mothers returning to work, the loss of the local extended family and changes in society’s attitudes.

The research during the last 15 years by Dr Anna Machin, an evolutionary anthropologist, into the role of fathers, has not  been responsible for any of these changes, but it has identified the biology of fatherhood and the important role fathers play in the lives of their young children and its impact on a child’s future. Dr Machin started this research because the birth of her first child was very traumatic; she was offered support  and counselling, but her husband, who was also traumatised, was offered nothing. She started to look into previous research: it was all about absent fathers.

Her research identified that evolution primed men to be fathers. Expectant fathers develop anatomical changes to their brain and changes in certain hormones. The limbic system and neocortex of the father’s brain grow, testosterone levels decrease and levels of oxytocin and dopamine increase. These brain and hormonal changes enable fathers to prepare their infant for the challenges of the world around them, as well as increasing the nurturing instincts. Evolution has given fathers a different but complementary role to the mother, a uniquely important role in raising their infant. The attachment bond that develops between father and infant is different from the mother’s; it is delayed as it depends on interaction between father and infant. This bond develops at around six months, with wonderful very physical play, often called rough and tumble play, between father and infant. This is vital for the infant’s ongoing development, preparing it for the wider world, encountering risks and building resilience. Both father and infant receive a boost of oxytocin from this play, this encourages ongoing play between them. The father’s role continues to be crucial throughout the pre-school years, when a father is key to supporting language development and executive functioning.

These research findings are now universally accepted and Dr Machin has lectured extensively and passionately about the science of fatherhood and spoke at our 2020 What About the Children? Conference.

Support for fathers 

Paternity Leave

Paid paternity leave was introduced in the UK in 2003; it consists of two weeks taken within the first two months of the birth of the baby. Fathers who are self-employed are excluded and there are eligibility criteria to meet for employed fathers. Therefore, there is a significant percentage of fathers who are not eligible for this paid leave. Lower paid workers are less likely to take it up and therefore, miss out on the opportunity to start bonding with their baby during the early weeks of life.

Shared Parental Leave was introduced in 2015; it is complex to organise and uptake of this has been very low.

Local & National Groups

There has been an increase in local peer support groups and national charities. They are the main support for fathers with mental health issues, which are a growing concern, especially amongst new fathers.  Research from the NCT in 2015 found that 38% of new fathers were concerned about their mental health and 73% were worried about their partner’s mental health.

As well as supporting fathers, the national charities work with health-care professionals, schools and employers to raise the awareness of the important role of fathers.

The key national organisations include:

Fatherhood Institute                                       fatherhoodinstitute.org

Future Men                                           futuremen.org

Dad pad                                                thedadpad.co.uk

Dadmatters part of Home Start                 dadmatters.org.uk

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequent lockdown, presented many challenges to our lives. For fathers there were both positive and negative impacts. The lockdown suddenly changed their working lives; many were required to work from home. This change allowed fathers to spend more family time, caring for their infants and supporting their older children with school work. Fathers reported that they felt more confident and competent as fathers and experienced improvement in their mental health. The Fatherhood Institute produced a video in 2021 to illustrate how fathers had benefited from the extra time with their children - You tube - Lockdown fathers the untold story.

Right from the start of the pandemic fathers were excluded from most maternity services, including accompanying their partner to NHS appointments, ultrasound scans, and early labour. They needed to wait until they received a phone call to say their partner was in established labour before they could join her for the birth of their baby; then, a few hours later, they were required to leave. A distressing time for all. 

The website of a Scottish charity  www.cattanash.org.uk has a blog giving a moving description of the impact of having a baby during the Covid lockdown. The science has identified the unique and important role of fathers in caring for their infants, and this is now widely accepted, but more suppport and recognition is still needed from government, the NHS and employers.

The pandemic has created the opportunity to look at the work/life balance of fathers and mothers. Most fathers, who worked from home during the pandemic, want a more flexible work pattern and to be able to continue working from home for part of their working week. A review of paid paternity leave and parental leave is needed to modernise and enable more fathers to take up the offers.

The perinatal period is a time when fathers, as well as mothers, may need support for their emotional and mental health. The NHS maternity services need to make fathers feel more welcome and involved in their partner’s pregnancy journey. 

See-  Fatherhood Institute blog 12.6.18 ‘Why maternity services must modernise and take fathers seriously’ www.fatherhoodinstitute.org

It was very Interesting how the two speakers at the March 2022 What About the Children? Conference  ‘Critical Connections’, both spoke about the important role of fathers. How do we attract fathers of young children to our conferences and website? We need them to be involved in helping us to raise awareness of the never-changing emotional needs of the under-threes in our ever-changing society.