Session: Fathers' Experiences, Parental Representations, and Involvement during the Prenatal Period (Society for Social Work and Research 25th Annual Conference - Social Work Science for Social Change)

Father involvement during the prenatal period is associated with multiple positive maternal-child health outcomes, including higher likelihood of mothers' receipt of prenatal care and lower likelihood of low birth weight infants. However, less is known about what fathers themselves experience during the prenatal period and how these experiences shape their transition to parenthood. This symposium examines fathers' prenatal experiences, representations, and involvement from their perspectives. Consistent with the 2021 conference theme, Social Work Science for Social Change, the symposium highlights social work research aimed at understanding the ways and extent to which men make sense of their parenting role, engage in prenatal care, and form attachments with their developing babies, in order to inform efforts to support positive father involvement and promote healthy maternal-child outcomes.

To illuminate fathers' prenatal experiences, this symposium combines three complementary presentations that use qualitative methods. Study #1 explores expectant fathers' and mothers' perspectives on father involvement in prenatal care and identifies strategies for involving fathers that are consistent with mothers' and fathers' needs and preferences. Study #2 explores how fathers develop prenatal representations of their baby-thoughts and expectations of their future child and the relationship they will share-in tandem with mothers. Study #3 reports on both the prenatal challenges and joys that low-income men experience as they transition to fatherhood. The focus on fathers' prenatal experiences and their transition to parenthood is imperative, given that the vast majority of parent education programs still target primarily the mother-child relationship, leaving many fathers behind.

Study #1: Present as a Partner and a Parent: Mothers' and Fathers' Perspectives on Father Involvement in Prenatal Care

Study #2: Understanding the Development of Prenatal Representations Within Couples: A Qualitative Study of Parental Dyads

Study #3: Challenges and Joys of Becoming a Father: A Qualitative Study of Low-Income Men's Prenatal Experiences

The first and second papers employed data from 20 majority white, middle-income fathers and their pregnant partners, recruited through prenatal care. Interviews were conducted approximately midway through pregnancy to explore experiences in the prenatal period. The third paper used data from 23 racially diverse, low-income fathers recruited from a community-based fatherhood program. Interview were conducted retrospectively, asking fathers to reflect on their experiences of becoming a first-time parent. These three papers complement each other given their mutual focus on the prenatal experiences of first-time fathers and use of qualitative methodology informed by grounded theory to illuminate key themes. By focusing on sociodemographically diverse fathers, the symposium also highlights the importance of considering the unique needs of diverse fathers and families.

The symposium's discussant is an expert in early parenting processes, with extensive experience investigating fathers' beliefs and expectations across the transition to parenthood. Given that her work is informed by over two decades of clinical experience with families of infants and young children, the discussant's commentary contributes a translational component that speaks to how social work practitioners can provide father-inclusive services and best support fathers and families in the prenatal period and beyond.hers and families in the prenatal period and beyond.