How to close the gap in support for new fathers

This is of huge concern, and is being witnessed across all sectors and workplaces, including in early years settings.

In our new report, we look at the significant national gap between the mental health needs of children and their families, and the help available. Closing this gap will take co-ordinated ideas and collective action. Following a collaboration with services across the North West of England, the report identifies six areas – among many – where there are gaps in mental health support for children and families, but where there is also a wealth of innovation from which we can learn.

One of these identified gaps is the support for new fathers during pregnancy and the first year after birth (often called the perinatal period). Around one in 10 new fathers struggle with their mental health, which not only adversely impacts directly on them, but also on their partner and their children. From pregnancy and through the first year of a child’s life, the focus is often very much on the mother (including through the way we deliver ‘maternity services’) – primarily her physical health and, increasingly, her mental well-being. This is to be welcomed, but should not be to the exclusion of the needs of fathers.