FATHERS -TO-BE WILL BE GIVEN LESSONS ON BREASTFEEDING !!!

[Daanyeer]

By Kirsty Walker
18th January 2010


Fathers-to-be are to be given lessons on breastfeeding and supporting their partner through childbirth, ministers will announce this week.
A long-awaited families green paper will propose measures to get fathers more involved in their child's upbringing from before birth and beyond.
These include forcing single mothers to name the biological father on the birth certificate and encouraging hospitals to allow fathers to stay overnight after the birth of a child.
The paper is aimed at seizing the initiative from David Cameron, who has made tackling family breakdown a flagship policy.
The Tory leader has repeatedly called for fathers to be more closely involved with their children and has attacked 'deadbeat dads' for abandoning their responsibilities.
Under Labour, the number of unmarried couples living together has shot up by two thirds and the number of single parent families has risen by 8 per cent.

But Labour now wants to counter criticism that it has been too focused on mothers' rights by putting fatherhood at the centre of its social policy.

As well as being offered more access to ante-natal lessons from midwives and health visitors, every new father will be given a 'New Dad's Guide' that will include an explanation of breastfeeding and tips on supporting their partner


It follows research that shows mothers are twice as likely to continue breastfeeding if their partners have had a one-hour lesson before the birth about its benefits.
And studies reveal that fathers involved at birth are far more likely to stay involved in the first three years, and on through childhood and adolescence.
Around 45,000 children are registered in Britain every year without the name of their father.
From next year fathers who refuse to be named on the birth certificate or mothers who do not record the father's name will be liable for a £200 fine.
However, mothers will not have to name the father if 'it is not possible, practical or advisable'.

Schools Secretary Ed Balls and Health Secretary Andy Burnham will host a summit later this week with health visitors, midwives, charities and new dads about offering better advice to fathers.
In an interview with BBC1's Daily Politics, Mr Balls admitted: 'We haven't done enough in the past to support dads and their role in childbirth in the months and weeks beforehand, even though we know this is the most vulnerable time for a couple.

'All the evidence is if fathers are properly engaged and involved at that time, then they stay, they're supportive to their children, they do all the things which then lead to better child outcomes.'
The New Dad's Guide will be distributed in the information packs given to all new mothers and has been put together by the Fatherhood Institute.
The FI has found that although 86 per cent of fathers now attend the birth of their child, many still feel excluded and can be literally shut out of the hospital when visiting time is over.

Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said: 'If the Government really wants to encourage family stability, it should boldly and unashamedly support marriage.'
Tory spokesman for family policy, David Willetts, said: 'Labour have spent a decade focusing only on mother and baby and at this late stage they're claiming at last to have discovered the importance of fathers and grandparents.
'But it won't be taken seriously given their track record of ignoring them in the past.'


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