Prenatal Fatherhood

This usually comes when the couple believes they have their ducks in a row and the creation of an infant would only bring more satisfaction and joy. When women get pregnant the first thing that they usually do is run to the book store and they’ll pick up “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” by Heidi Murkoff. Naturally, expecting a child causes a mommy-to-be to read into what to is to come in the months awaiting the arrival of the child. Not because that mother had an essay to write on it the next day but because that mother could feel the flutters in her tummy- which could have either been the baby kicking or gas. This is inconclusive. When the newborn arrives the couple experienced exactly what they sought which was the pleasure of bringing a human being into the world. Raising a child isn’t completely filled with ease but this form of secondary education taught them a lot about themselves as the baby developed. The new parents learned to be unselfish by not spending frivolously in order to save up for their child’s college fund. Having a child also encouraged this couple to improve their health. “Fatherhood comes with a lot of great health perks” says Marcus Goldman, M.D., author of The Joy of Fatherhood: The First Twelve Months. “Not only does it inspire men to take better care of themselves physically, but it also

Demographically, over 90% of the participants strongly agreed that fatherhood is crucial in our society. A little over 47% of fathers, that encouragement from the mothers of their children matters because of the obstacles they faced with finance, and their duties on the job. The final results of marital status statistics is over 80% married fathers, nine percent divorced, and six percent never married. One surprising statistic was 90% cohabitate with the mother and focal child (Glenn & Popenoe, 2006).

Due to problems arising out of bitter divorces, custody, and support battles fathers are ostracize out of their children’s life. Fathers are often looked at as the bad person when things go wrong and being the blame. Fathers are just as responsible for the child being born as the mother. Over the years fathers continue to fight for equal rights, mothers are looked at as the victims and often make false statements about the fathers to suit their own selfish needs. Accusations of sexual and child abuse by mothers of the noncustodial fathers are often found to be untrue.

The introduction begins with quotes from people who mention that fathers get women pregnant and then leave the woman and the child; they mention that men need to realize their responsibilities do not end with conception. The book summarizes these quotes as unwed fatherhood is one of the leading social problems, and these men are irresponsible and “hit and run.” A CBS special report, The Vanishing Family, was an interview of McSeed, a father of six from four different women. In the interview, he says the responsibility of raising the child is on the mother, not him.

Fathers today spend more time taking care of their children compared to previous generations. Even with these gains, today's mothers devote almost double the time that fathers do for child care.[2] While every situation is different, in most families there

On June 21st, 2010, Father 's Day, President Barack Obama delivered a speech in Washington D.C. addressing a crowd of his cabinet members, veterans, senators, and normal fathers. He aimed to give a speech about promoting responsible fatherhood, but his speech went beyond that. He addressed the crowd with a calm demeanor and a strong voice, and gave a speech on the importance of being a present father and the many lasting negative effects that having an absent father can have on a child. His heavy use of pathos, the appeal to emotion, gave the speech depth, and a reason for the crowd to want to listen.

The documentary goes through the role the father play’s in every stage of a child’s life. Father’s relationship’s begins before birth; children can recognize the mother’s voice while she is pregnant but when the father speaks the child reacts more. The documentary also talks about body changes in the father soon after getting his partner pregnant. There is a hormonal change in the father, which causes physical changes. Dr. Brennan did research that showed 55% of the men he conducted his research on had symptoms that most associate with pregnant women. That is known as a couvade syndrome which happens with the increase of prolactin. Experiment conducted showed that prolactin increases after a 15 minute period of a father holding his baby

While reading this, I couldn’t help to contemplate how the bad father model and the emerging single mother is becoming more apparent in our Southern California community. While it may seem like common sense, it had not occurred to me before that deadbeat fathers fail to acknowledge their accidental offspring, even on the smallest scale. For instance, Furstenberg notes , “Many males today do not report their children in social surveys...because many men simply “forget children living outside of the household (1988:201).” I felt disgruntled at my own gender after reading this. I understand that the child may be a product of accidental love but somewhere in the world there's a person that holds half of your

Kurt Bruner and Steve Stroope begin chapter 1 of their book titled It Starts At Home: A Practical Guide to Nurturing Lifelong Faith, with the following two sentences, “If you’ve ever been part of a loving, healthy family you have smelled the sweet aroma of heaven. If you’ve ever lived in a troubled, broken home you have breathed the foul stench of hell.” For many couples, having children can be the most pleasing experience they will ever have in their marriage. Unfortunately, for many others—those that are unable to cope with the stressors children bring to a marriage—will view the experience as a detriment to their marriage. For some just deciding when to have children can be a marriage stressor. For others, an unexpected pregnancy can cause tremendous stress in a marriage. Parenting requires a change in lifestyle and brings with it many challenges to a marriage. Those couples that think they are prepared soon find out that there is no way to prepare for all that raising a child entails. For those that are not prepared or did not get the chance to adequately prepare, there will be times when their commitments to each other will be tested.

In my research on new fatherhood I ran across the topics of prenatal paternal depression, perinatal paternal depression, and paternal post-partum depression. As these terms were unfamiliar, I decided to see why they might be so hidden from the public eye or shunned aside. Many reasons came to fruition as I studied the research studies on these phenomena. The most common reason was the fact that most of the research has very few male participants. I speculate that it has to do with the innate machismo of the male psyche. There is a refusal to ask for help or admit there is a problem, even a major concern. If expectant fathers were more willing to participate in research studies on PPD, as expectant mothers do, this research would

childbirth is also a transition phase for fathers as well as mothers, we can begin to bridge a gap that can return fathers to the private arena of home. This could provide the beginnings of change where a stronger family dynamic is created in which both parents view the other as truly equal and worthy of autonomy and respect. If this starts at home it can radiate outward. If we are to create a family dynamic where fathers are involved and establish a new dialogue for men to be included in the pregnancy and birthing process, we may be able to change the future outcomes of all new families by instituting the space for fathers to become active participants in the birth of their

Some people have a stigma that the mother is the one responsible for raising the child from birth. I respectfully disagree. I believe the father should be as much a part of a baby’s first weeks as the mother. Why should a father be robbed of the intimate bonding time with his child just because he didn’t physically give birth to them? I feel this would help the father take better care of the child when the mother returns to work, especially if the father is home at different times than the mother. Having time at home bonding with their father will help the child recognize him when their mother is not around and put them at ease. Studies have also shown that fathers who are home on paternity leave are more likely to be

Having a child is both an exciting and significant time in a family’s life. The birth experience of the father can vary from culture to culture and is an important time in both the child’s and the Father’s lives. A lot of new fathers can often be scared or intimidated by being present during the physical birth of the child. It is said that if a father feels scared, or stressed before or during labor that he should not be present during birth because he may transfer feelings to his spouse and further difficult the labor process(Odent,1999, Midwifery Today Int Midwife). According to a study (Singh and Newburn,2000) 96% of newborn babies in the UK had the father present while birth was given, which Would suggest that majority of the time the father felt the need to be present during birth in industrialized western countries.

Fatherhood has rapidly evolved over the years. Before the mother of the child was the most important player in the game of pregnancy. Now, the fathers have taken on just as big of a role as the mothers (Fägerskiöld, 2008). One of the

Becoming a parent is scary, overwhelming. No matter how much one might prepare, parenting is a job for which no one can prepare. In the beginning, every time you contemplate responsibility that tiny being placed in your care I imagine awe and freaking out would be the best way to describe the emotions rolling about. Thus begins the journey of parenthood. A parent baths, cuddles, prepares the house for baby’s first steps, records their first words and ultimately starts them on the road to lifelong learning. At first so much is dependent upon you, the parent. You after all are your children’s first heroes. In the beginning you can do no wrong so in