Fathers' functional status six weeks following the birth of a baby: a Queensland study

Abstract

This study investigated fathers' functional status following the birth of a baby. Of the men who attended a variety of postnatal services within one regional centre in Queensland, Australia, 165 were surveyed at six weeks postpartum using the Inventory of Functional Status — Fathers (Tulman et al. 1993). Both first time and experienced fathers participated and all had fathered a healthy full-term infant. Results indicate that the fathers' functional status was highest in the areas of household, child-care and work related activities and lowest for infant care, personal and social activities. Although 83% of the fathers continued to work regular or increased hours outside the home, almost 30% managed to increase their involvement in activities involving home and family. Clearly most fathers appeared to engage in a balancing act that required them to relinquish some personal activities in order to be an involved parent. Practitioners should encourage new fathers to discuss their expectations of parenting and investigate the variety of leave options available to them to enable greater participation in activities at home.