Fathers Sharing Early Parental Support On An Internet Forum

"Twofold attitudes exist in the relationship between the fathers and services, acting as a barrier and not a confirmatory support..."

How Fathers Tend To Perceive Services

Many services direct their support and information provision around new children largely at mothers, and this can result in fathers being excluded or overlooked. What then happens is that many fathers seek information on the web and through forums from other fathers to confirm and validate their experiences and what is normal. The risk with this approach is that the information they receive is not as professional or accurate as it would be if it came from a professional health worker.

The research shows that fathers take health information provided from health professionals in a very personal way, while their own attitudes to the services takes a very systemic approach where the role of an individual staff member is seen in context of the whole health system.

This can act as a barrier towards effective engagement with fathers if the 'personal' approaches taken by staff are viewed as 'negative'. This means that dismissive or insulting approaches from health staff can be taken personally while fathers' interactions with those staff are seen as reflective of an uncaring or 'exclusive' system focused on the mother. So there is this two-way set of attitudes that can act as exclusive towards fathers, whether intentionally or not.

One of the major benefits then of web forums is that fathers can freely share experiences in a way that is usually perceived as less judgmental and where they have more control.

A More Understanding Approach

The paper advocates a more informed approach based on a better understanding of men's health-seeking and informational behaviours.

This means developing approaches that are 'male-friendly' and therefore build credibility with both new mothers and new fathers. The risk of deferring to web forums can be that misinformation is continued and that there becomes an ongoing distrust of the advice being provided by health services staff.

In practical terms, this can include:

• Separate processes and services directed at fathers to help them take a specific male-oriented approach towards supporting new families
• Directing information provision equally and actively to both mothers and fathers, rather than one or the other
• Use approaches such as aesthetic learning based on creative expression, drama or storytelling approaches that engage with fathers and provide information in a way that is more easily understood in terms of their role as men, fathers and family supporters.