Webinar: Engaging Fathers in Maternal & Infant Health Programs: Importance, Challenges, and Strategies

It’s an obvious omission in the name: “maternal and infant health” leaves out the dads.

But there seems to be a growing push to include fathers in home visiting and other family support programs. In Los Angeles County’s Family Strengthening Network, home visiting staff now receive training on how to engage and support fathers and partners, and our Consortium now has a workgroup that meets regularly to discuss father involvement (email LACPECHVC_Coordinator@labestbabies.org if you’re interested in joining).

A growing body of research (see here, here, here, and here) continues to affirm the important role fathers and other partners play (even prenatally) in building strong and healthy families.

In this webinar — hosted by LA Best Babies Network on February 10, 2022, for staff in our network of home visiting organizations and Welcome Baby hospitals — Professor Amina Alio shares some of that research and discusses practical strategies for getting dads involved. She also provides helpful tips and information on what kinds of support and resources dads want. (Scroll down for links to resources.)

About the presenter:

Dr. Amina Alio is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She is an applied anthropologist with extensive experience in community-based participatory research, evaluation, and qualitative and mixed-methods research. A Fulbright Scholar with international experience in reproductive and sexual health outcomes, Dr. Alio’s research has focused primarily on health disparities in maternal and child health, especially socio-behavioral factors that affect maternal and infant outcomes. For the past 15 years, Dr. Alio has been working with the National Healthy Start Association on the issue of involving fathers in perinatal programs and has been an advocate for involving fathers in the pregnancy process in order to improve birth outcomes.

Related Resources

• Dr. Alio’s presentation slides: Engaging Fathers in Maternal & Infant Health Programs: Importance, Challenges, and Strategies
• Related posts in the Stronger Families Blog:
  • Webinar: Engaging Fathers in Home Visiting (10/23/2020)
  • Father’s Day video of dads who have benefited from the Family Strengthening Network’s home visiting services (6/18/2021)
  • Happy Father’s Day from the Family Strengthening Network (6/19/2020)
  • Peer to Peer Workshop: Engaging and Supporting Fathers Through Home Visiting (2/10/2020)
  • Webinar: Importance of Fatherhood, Engaging Dads in Home Visiting (11/15/2017)
  • Fatherhood Matters: Resources That Encourage Dads to Stay Involved With Their Kids (6/17/2016)
• Based in Los Angeles County:
  • Various support groups and dad gatherings (mostly local, all available virtually during the pandemic)
  • L.A. County Consortium workgroup on engaging fathers in home visiting (email LACPECHVC_Coordinator@labestbabies.org if you’re interested in joining)
  • Love, Dad
  • The Hundley Fatherhood Program at Eisner Health (free and confidential 12-week program for fathers, stepfathers, relative caregivers and foster parents of children of any age)
  • Children’s Institute’s Project Fatherhood (Listen to NPR’s “Fresh Air” interview ‘Project Fatherhood’ Teaches Parenting Skills to Inner-City Dads.)
  • Resources for dads in our guide to Support Services for African-American Moms and Families During and After Pregnancy
• Sample checklist for programs seeking to engage fathers
• Engaging Men & Dads at WIC: A Toolkit 
• National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse
• National Center for Fathering
• National Fatherhood Initiative