“Man-Up Moment”: Perceptions of fathers' involvement during pregnancy in a black community

In Hillsborough County, Florida, the rate of infant mortality among Black populations is four times higher than their White counterparts. Research suggests that external factors, (e.g. stress), impact mothers' and fetuses' health status. Paternal involvement (PI) improves poor birth outcomes; however, little is known about the mechanism through which PI during pregnancy may improve outcomes. Identifying community-specific contexts is essential in developing culturally appropriate research questions and intervention strategies to address infant health disparities.

Utilizing a Community-Based Participatory Research approach, we sought to describe the language used to characterize PI, expectations the Black community has regarding PI, and types of support desired from fathers. Thirty-eight residents (>18yrs), recruited from the East Tampa community, participated in 10 focus group sessions. Transcribed sessions were entered into an ATLAS.ti database for content analysis. Five major thematic domains emerged: support, responsibility, relationship, barriers, and other related themes. Themes describing physical and emotional support and support from others were reported by over 80% of participants. Responsible actions, commitment, and parental cooperation were reported by over 70% of participants, and 87% of participants reported other related themes.

Participants reported multilevel support, responsible actions, and parental cooperation to be critical when describing PI. Other themes associated with PI included fathers' upbringing and pregnancy intention. A limitation of this study was the small sample size of men (n = 14).

Implications for research and practice include further exploration of parental cooperation and pregnancy intention, development of father-friendly programs, and provision of father-specific mentorship and support services.