Father Inclusive Prenatal Care Study

Young families need additional institutional support to help them meet the challenges of parenthood. Prenatal clinics are well situated to address some of their needs by expanding services to include fathers. The Father Inclusive Prenatal Care (FIPC) model is designed to prepare young men for the challenges of parenting by supporting the development of their relationship skills as part of routine prenatal healthcare. This approach involves assessing expectant fathers and mothers with a "parent prep-check" (PPC) to identify their needs and then offer services to address those needs and prepare them for parenthood. Services include: (1) parent education about how to understand and care for infants, and how to build secure parent-child bonds; (2) an evidence-based co-parenting program to strengthen and stabilize their family; and (3) educational and employment support designed to help young parents find and keep living wage jobs. The project will be implemented through several community based healthcare sites that are well positioned to engage young fathers through their prenatal clinics. To extend the reach and accessibility of the model, trainings and most services will be available online. As a result of participating in this project it is expected that young couples will have better co-parenting relationships and be better prepared to take care of their infants.