Why supporting fathers’ mental health at work matters

I have been working in perinatal mental health for over 20 years, but this had largely focused on mothers. It is only relatively recently that we started thinking about fathers too. What became clear, through my research and working with new parents who have experienced poor perinatal mental health, is that there are three situations when a father needs more information and support: to enable him to support his partner, should she become unwell; to support his own mental health; and to provide support for fathers who witness a traumatic birth involving their partner.