Fathers Matter: Black Fathers' Relationships with their Partners during Pregnancy and Postpartum

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the characteristics of participants in the Fathers Matter study for a better understanding of fathers of the baby who engage in pregnancy research involving primarily Black couples and their relationships with their partners.

Study design and methods: The Fathers Matter Study uses a prospective design, identifying father-mother dyads during pregnancy and following them until birth as part of the Biosocial Impacts on Black Births Study. Participants completed prenatal and postpartum questionnaires.

Results: Our analyses are based on 111 fathers. Nearly all ( n = 101, 91.1%) of fathers identified as Black and 51.4% ( n = 57) had a high school diploma, graduate equivalency diploma, or higher. About half ( n = 57, 51.4%) reported annual incomes of $10,000 or less. Most reported that relationships with the mother were very close both before ( n = 100, 89.9%) and during ( n = 85, 76.6%) pregnancy. However, substantial variability was found in relationship satisfaction, involvement in the pregnancy, financial support provided, and scales of conflict and support.

Clinical implications: We found homogeneity in sociodemographic and basic relationship measures. Complex measures of the father-mother relationships demonstrated considerable variability. Data from fathers may identify their contributions to successful birth outcomes. Understanding relationships between fathers and mothers could identify risk or protective characteristics to be addressed at the family or community levels.