Working with parents
Project is a hit with fathers
Fathers who take part in antenatal sessions feel more encouraged to access other services at their local children's centre, according to results from a new initiative.
An evaluation of the three-year pilot of the peer group support programme Hit the Ground Crawling found that 80 per cent of fathers who took part have continued to use services available through children's centres in East Staffordshire, and 78 per cent said they felt more confident about supporting their child's mother.
Hit the Ground Crawling, developed by the Fatherhood Institute, aims to give fathers more confidence and introduce them to family support services (News, 17 October 2008).
Fathers-to-be are given opportunities to talk to other men about what it is like to be a father and see how to care for a new baby.
The Fatherhood Institute is recommending that the scheme be embedded in local provision and linked with maternity services as part of the core antenatal offer.
It says that potential participants should be sent personalised invitations to attend, rather than mass marketing, and that flyers and posters should be distributed at locations other than mainstream parenting services to target those most at need.
Kathy Jones, training manager at the Fatherhood Institute, said, 'Hit the Ground Crawling is a great way to create early engagement with fathers and their babies. We have always known that improving dads' relationship with their children is best done with universal services.
'Research has shown that couples are more likely to separate after the birth of their baby, and antenatal sessions can have a huge significance on the father's relationship with the mother and their bond with the baby.
'Ideally, we would make HTGC a statutory expectation for all fathers to help normalise the experience. By sending personalised invitations we can reach a whole range of fathers, which is terribly important.'
The programme is continuing in East Staffordshire and is being developed in 15 other local authorities.
The full report will be available after the Hit the Ground Crawling Conference on 27 April in Leicester, where practitioners who have delivered the scheme will talk about their experiences.
Further information
