Engaging African-American Fathers in Reducing Stress during Pregnancy: Interview Results of African-American Men

Infant mortality disproportionally affects African-Americans(AA) in the US.  Health behavior and limited medical care access do not solely account for high rates of adverse birth outcomes in AA.  A life course model suggests that multiple stressors negatively affect reproductive health.  Parental health literacy supports prenatal care in the AA community. Understanding the barriers to fatherhood participation during perinatal period to reduce infant mortality was our goal.

This project's purpose is to gather input from AA fathers through community partnerships. Our objective is to engage AA males during their partner's prenatal care.

Using focus groups to gather information from AA fathers from four community-based agencies for recruitment. The focus group data was analyzed using content and narrative analysis.  A follow up listening session was held the fathers for a presentation of the results and their additional input included how to empower fathers during pregnancy.

Preliminary findings included fathers reporting factors that reduced their ability for prenatal and postnatal involvement, these factors include little opportunity or employment, lack of education, increased stereotyping, prohibitive policing, relationship challenges, and lack of recognition of their role by health care providers. The results presented yielded two strong messages from fathers: responsibility for their children is critical and a focus on collaboratively defined successful outcomes must be encouraged.

We propose that social justice initiatives may reduce the environmental barriers that exist when AA fathers engage in prenatal care. Incorporation of health literacy strategies into technology and peer mentoring programs may help engage fathers during the pre and postnatal period.