Supporting New Dads

With special guests:

• Sean Tonnet, facilitator of the Transition to Fatherhood course at Manly Hospital, Sydney, NSW, and
• Joel Edson, creator of the Fathers and Families project in Port Augusta, South Australia

This week Dads on the Air looks at the growing area of ante-natal services for new dads-to-be. Until relatively recently dads were almost entirely excluded from the birthing process. It wasn’t until 1974 that all Australian fathers were welcome to attend the birth of their children. Although men often attend conventional pre-natal sessions, much of the content is about the needs of the mother and the new baby, with men often attending out of duty to their partners, and often feeling that their role in the birthing and parenting areas is secondary.

The idea that new dads might need services to prepare them for what is probably their most profound life-changing experience: becoming a dad, is relatively new, but thankfully is becoming more and more widespread. Especially as a new generation of men challenges the restrictive role of the male breadwinner and demand to be hands-on fathers, intimately involved with the day-to-day tasks of parenting. We speak to two dads who run courses for new fathers-to-be as part of pre-natal sessions attended by expectant parents at their local hospital. Sean Tonnet works in the city environment of Manly Hospital in Sydney and Joel Edson has developed programs in the different setting of rural South Australia’s Port Augusta. For more information, including a list of pre-natal programs for new dads around Australia, click here.

ANTE-NATAL PROGRAMS FOR MEN

The following is a list of known pre-natal services for men available in Australia. If you know of any other services, please email us and we will add them to the list.

• Ross Fairbank runs ante-natal programs for men as part of the ante-natal education program of the Adelaide Hills Community Health Service. Tel 08 8393 1748. Email
• Dave Hughes runs the “Building Better Dads” program out of the North Coast Area Health Service in Bangalow. Tel 02 6687 0008. Email
• Mark Friedewald has created the “Father-Time: Welcome To The Rest Of Your Life” sessions which now run at all pre-natal classes on the Central Coast of NSW. Tel 02 4320 2863. Email
• Tony White runs the “I’m a Dad” program in Coffs Harbour. Tel 02 6658 7586. Email
• The Good Beginnings Australia program called “Dads Connect” is now part of all antenatal services in Tasmania and is also run in Victoria and NSW. Contact Paul Prichard. Tel 02 9211 6767. Email
• Lucy Perry’s program “Beer and Bubs” takes antenatal classes into a more relaxing pub setting. Tel 02 9440 9099. Website www.beerandbubs.com.au
• Steve Sheehy runs the “Fatherhood Support Program” at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide. Tel 0401 125 639. Email
• Joel Edson is a fourth year Occupational Therapy student who has developed the “Fathers and Families Project” in Port Augusta in rural South Australia. Tel 0412 189 343. Email
• Sean Tonnet runs the “Transition to Fatherhood” course at Manly Hospital in Sydney. Tel 0415 919 123. Email
• Evyn Webster is the Co-ordinator of Hey Dad in Western Australia through Ngala, and has been offering services at Osborne Park Hospital for 7 years and at King Edward Memorial Hospital (the main Women’s Hospital in WA) for slightly less.Tel (08) 9368 9379. Email
• Rob Koch at the City of Casey (Victoria) runs Pit Stop courses for new Dads and is working towards implementing antenatal sessions as well. Tel 0400 958 173. Email
• The Fatherhood Foundation is working on a pilot program with Wollongong Hospital for dads-to-be called ‘Daring Dads’. www.fatherhood.org.au/greatDads_newDads.html
• Chris May works with the John Hunter Children’s Hospital in Newcastle.

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