Evidence demonstrates that fathers play a critical role in children’s health and development, beginning in the prenatal period and continuing through early childhood and adolescence. As health professionals, it’s important to let fathers know that they need and deserve support.
![father holding baby](/sites/default/files/styles/custom_square/public/text-and-image-side-by-side-image/Fathers%20Cutout%20Small%20%281%29.png?itok=u9HHGWoL)
Empower Fathers as Advocates for Children’s Health
Fathers can serve as powerful allies for maternal and child health. Intentionally talking to fathers about their impact and what they can do at every stage of their children’s lives will empower them as champions for children’s health and well-being.
- Read more from NICHQ CEO Scott Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP, about the important role fathers play in supporting children during infancy and early childhood, and the significant barriers to involvement that fathers face.
- Learn strategies to help make fathers visible in MCH from fatherhood expert Kenn Harris, NICHQ Executive Project Director and Engagement Lead.
Equity Table: Fatherhood in the Age of Mass Incarceration
NICHQ's Healthy Start Technical Assitance and Support Center (HS TASC) recently facilitated a conversation about fatherhood in the age of mass incarceration during our recent Equity Table.
The insightful conversation included members of the HS TASC team, Healthy Start's Kevin Sherman, and experts Dr. Art James and The Sentencing Project’s Marc Mauer.
The Equity Table is a series of roundtable conversations that explore the racism and inequities communities of color face in the United States, today and historically. Specifically, this series focuses on the persistent disparities seen among Black and Native communities, both in maternal and child health outcomes and beyond.