FRIDAY, June 16, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Jeremy Davis made sure his wife, Chloe, got plenty of support when she was breastfeeding each of their three sons.
“When she’d been up nursing all night, I’d take over with the newborn within the mornings so she could get extra sleep,” the Wilton, Conn., man recalled. Davis also learned to offer special breastfeeding massages to assist with milk flow and took on middle-of-the-night diaper duty.
Now, a brand new survey finds that each one this help from dad can set mom and baby up for achievement.
When dads wanted their infant’s mother to breastfeed, mothers were more more likely to achieve this and to achieve this for longer periods. As well as, dads can assist promote protected sleeping practices comparable to placing the newborn on its back to forestall sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
“Fathers make major contributions to the health of their families by supporting breastfeeding and adhering to protected sleep practices,” said study writer Dr. John James Parker. He’s an instructor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, a pediatrician at Lurie Children’s, and an internist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
“Fathers are a vital audience for health promotion campaigns, and clinicians and health care providers need to have interaction fathers and discuss all of the ways in which fathers might be helpful with an infant,” Parker added.
For the study, Parker and his colleagues surveyed 250 recent dads around two to 6 months after the birth of their infant. When fathers wanted their infant’s mother to breastfeed, 95% of mothers did, and 78% reported that mom was still breastfeeding at eight weeks. In contrast, when dads had no opinion or didn’t want mom to breastfeed, 69% of mothers did, and only 33% were still breastfeeding at eight weeks, the study found.
What can dads do to assist breastfeeding mothers? Lots, Parker said.
“They will provide nutrition for moms and be certain that she has what she must be rested and breastfeed,” he said. “Breastfeeding is a team effort, and fathers make a big contribution to the success of breastfeeding.”
But that wasn’t the one way dads can assist.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that infants sleep on their backs on an approved sleep surface without soft bedding.
Fully 99% of dads said they placed their infant to sleep, but only 16% implemented all three of those AAP-recommended infant sleep practices. Almost one-third of fathers didn’t do at the very least one key component of the three protected sleep practices, the study showed.
The survey also revealed some disparities amongst dads.
Black dads were less more likely to use the back sleep position and more more likely to use soft bedding than white fathers were, the survey showed. Back sleeping can dramatically reduce the danger of SIDS. Black infants are twice as more likely to die from SIDS as white infants. It’s possible unsafe sleep practices may contribute to this disparity, the study authors said.
In relation to protected sleep for infants, dads needs to be directly engaged in discussions concerning the safest way and safest place for infants to sleep, Parker said.
The excellent news is that dads are way more involved now than in generations past.
“One important driving force is gender equality within the workplace and recognizing that girls are equal and very invaluable employees in lots of fields,” he said.
“Dads should express how proud [they are] of their partners for giving birth and breastfeeding, and conversely the moms must be really pleased with fathers and say how meaningful it’s for them to be there and support their family,” Parker said.
Within the study, researchers used a brand new survey tool called Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) for Dads, which was modeled after the same tool used to survey mothers. Now, the team plans to survey fathers in other stages and take a look at how dads’ involvement affects their health and well-being.
The study was published online June 16 within the journal Pediatrics.
These findings reflect what Dr. Jessica Nash, a pediatrician at Children’s National in Washington, D.C., sees in her practice.
“When fathers are involved in infant feeding practices, there is healthier success and more support for the mother, which we all know improves breastfeeding outcomes,” she said.
It’s not only fathers’ attitudes and support of breastfeeding that may fuel success. “Other support members, grandmothers, other members of the family, peers or knowing others who breastfeed can improve outcomes,” Nash added.
Some obstacles remain, including lack of education about breastfeeding advantages and lack of breastfeeding support when it comes to parental leave or community support, she noted.
There’s lots for brand spanking new dads to do, Nash stressed.
“Fathers can burp the newborn after feeds, support mom with positioning, and help with some cleansing or cooking if time allows. Also skin-to-skin is equally essential with father and mother,” she said. “I believe a father’s role of reinforcing that mom and baby are doing great is critical.”
The health advantages of breastfeeding extend to the entire family.
“Research shows breastfeeding protects against illnesses like asthma, obesity, upper respiratory infections, and diabetes and other chronic illnesses, which could correlate to less day off from work as a result of illness, which could impact work and family life,” Nash said.
More information
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recommendations on how dads can higher support breastfeeding mothers.
SOURCES: John James Parker, MD, instructor of pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, pediatrician, Lurie Children’s, and internist, Northwestern Medicine, Chicago; Jessica Nash, MD, pediatrician, Children’s National, Washington, D.C.; Jeremy Davis, Wilton, Conn.; Pediatrics, June 16, 2023, online