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Father’s Role in Preconception Health

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Abstract

As part of the federal multi-agency conference on Paternal Involvement in Pregnancy Outcomes, the existing Fatherhood paradigm was expanded to include a new focus on Men’s Preconception Health. This concept grew out of the women’s preconception health movement and the maternal and child health (MCH) life course perspective, as well as pioneering research from the child development, public health data and family planning fields. It encourages a new examination of how men’s preconception health impacts both reproductive outcomes and men’s own subsequent health and development. This essay introduces the concept of men’s preconception health and health care; examines its historical development; notes the challenges of its inclusion into fatherhood and reproductive health programs; and situates it within a longer men’s reproductive health life course. We then briefly explore six ways men’s preconception health and health care can have positive direct and indirect impacts—planned and wanted pregnancies (family planning); enhanced paternal biologic and genetic contributions; improved reproductive health biology for women; improved reproductive health practices and outcomes for women; improved capacity for parenthood and fatherhood (psychological development); and enhanced male health through access to primary health care. Research on men’s preconception health and health care is very limited and siloed. We propose a research agenda to advance this topic in three broad domains: increasing the basic epidemiology and risk factor knowledge base; implementing and evaluating men’s preconception health/fatherhood interventions (addressing clinical health care, psychological resiliency/maturation, and social determinants of health); and fostering more fatherhood health policy and advocacy research.

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Notes

  1. This essay is adapted from the introductory keynote presentation (MK) at that Conference on Paternal Involvement in Pregnancy Outcomes: From Preconception to the First Year, co-sponsored by NICHD, HRSA, and AYF, September 2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, 125 Nashua Street, Suite 8402, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Milton Kotelchuck

  2. Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857, USA

    Michael Lu

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Correspondence to Milton Kotelchuck.

Appendix

Appendix

Preconception Health Working Group Research Topic Suggestions

Knowledge Base

Men’s/Fathers’ Development
  1. (1)

    What leads to successful nurturing fathers and generativity? (Predictors, interventions)

  2. (2)

    What are the holistic health needs of young men?

Developmental Studies
  1. (3)

    How do boys, adolescents, and men conceptualize fatherhood, family, relationships/marriage, sexuality, and conception?

    1. a.

      Do these conceptualizations vary by male, demographic, cultural, life experience subgroups? By gender?

  2. (4)

    Among marginalized adolescent men, how do they conceptualize the differences among fertility versus paternity (fatherhood)? Children vs. family? Does the expectation of an early death (no future) impact rationally on paternity decisions?

  3. (5)

    Increased understanding of men’s and women’s dyadic decision making about pregnancy? (e.g., likelihood of male sex turning into fertility, by class, and by women’s characteristics)

Causes of Men’s (Poor) Health and Development
  1. (6)

    Perceptions/concerns about Black adolescents and health

  2. (7)

    Sources of depression in adolescent men, young fathers

  3. (8)

    Does family, marriage, or paternity lead to greater life expectancy in the (diverse) black community? (What is the impact of birth on men’s health?)

  4. (9)

    Impact of incarceration on men’s health? Community reproductive health?

  5. (10)

    Assess black fathers’ stress at raising black infants/children/adolescents in America (parenting stress/impact on health) [Black Lives Matter]

Social Strategies

Developmental Interventions
  1. (11)

    Relationships to intimacy: development and evaluation of relationship/fatherhood training and skill modules

  2. (12)

    Fathering to fatherhood: fostering development and evaluation of fatherhood training (men’s development programs)

Preconception/Men’s Health Services
  1. (13)

    Barriers to (marginalized) men’s enrollment in ACA

  2. (14)

    Lack of engagement of men in current OB/GYN and pediatric practice

  3. (15)

    Why men feel excluded from clinical care?

  4. (16)

    Why do boys at 15 stop going to doctors? (personal, professional and gender policy)

  5. (17)

    Among successful young men’s clinics: Why do young men come? And what needs do they have?

  6. (18)

    Develop specific preconception health and healthcare evidence based guidelines for men, especially post-pubertal men.

  7. (19)

    Where are untapped existing opportunities to engage men in addressing their health? (e.g., adding a male health component to existing clinical care).

  8. (20)

    Create and evaluate boys’ health promotion programs.

  9. (21)

    Clinically improving male long-term contraception methods; fostering men’s use of them.

Political Will

Policy Analyses
  1. (22)

    Policy analysis of federal/state health care reimbursement policies for adolescents and young adults. Men’s vs. women’s broad holistic needs?

  2. (23)

    Policy analyses of federal/state policies that diminish family/fatherhood formation? (or encourage short hookup to conception)

Methodological Recommendations
  1. (24)

    Always interview men rather than female partners (about men/male information)

  2. (25)

    More diversity (heterogeneity studies) in male preconception fatherhood research

  3. (26)

    Specific methodologic challenges

    1. a.

      Measurement of changing contraceptive desirability at different stages of relationship

    2. b.

      Understanding the differential bias in likelihood of sex turning into fertility by social class. Be aware of our interpretation of impact of social class/race on birth outcomes/fatherhood

    3. c.

      Differential methodologies for accessing “missing” adolescent males in preconception health research

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Kotelchuck, M., Lu, M. Father’s Role in Preconception Health. Matern Child Health J 21, 2025–2039 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-017-2370-4

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