Plus Paternal: Conversations

Healthy Male hosted a series of free webinars to explore ways to improve men’s engagement and support as they seek to, or become fathers. The live webinars featured panelists from a range of disciplines, with opportunities for the audience to raise questions.

Webinar 1 - The Case for Change

Non-birthing parents, most commonly men, are not systematically engaged or supported from pre-conception to parenthood. Opportunities to support their health and wellbeing and to prepare them for this major life transition are lost. To improve the experiences of fathers and outcomes for families a fundamental shift in the way society and the health system views fathers is required, and change across all levels of the system, and beyond. The Case for Change is strong and the time to act is now. This conversation highlighted the goals of the Plus Paternal: A focus on fathers – Case for Change and explored how achieving these goals will create healthier families. 

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Webinar 2 - The voice of fathers

Australian fathers and men trying to become fathers, want and deserve more from our health system. Many men report feeling undervalued and that their health and wellbeing needs have not been addressed as they seek to, and/or become fathers.  In this conversation, we heard about the experiences of fathers and men trying to become fathers who gave compelling reasons for change.

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Webinar 3 - The state of play: policy and systems

In this conversation, we discussed the need for a fundamental shift in the way the health system and workplaces cater to the needs of men – from preconception to early fatherhood. Initiatives that support the proactive engagement and care of men need to become standard practice. This requires policy, service-level, workplace, and individual commitments to a philosophy that is truly inclusive of men and fathers. 

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Webinar 4 - Supporting fathers at the grassroots

This conversation explored the roles of health practitioners involved in reproductive health services — from preconception, through pregnancy, and during early parenthood. We discussed how this diverse workforce can proactively engage and support fathers and prospective fathers, and the important role of peer support. 

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Webinar 5 - Social and mental health: a paternal lens

In this conversation, we explored the need for all parents who experience loss, distress, or who are struggling with parenthood to receive appropriate care and support. The discussion focussed on engaging and supporting fathers.

Watch the recorded webinar