Time to Reflect on... Interactions

In this section we invite you to reflect on what you have learned in this Chapter. We revisit each Lesson and provide some reflection points on their contents. We encourage you to grab a pen and paper and jot down some answers.

Acknowledging Dads

You as an individual:

• Where do you come across dads in your current role? 

• What do your interactions with them look like? 

• What could you do to support them to feel a full part of the perinatal journey? 

You as part of the system:

• Note down all the people who come into contact with dads in your system. This could be clinical staff, administrative staff, security staff and others. 

• What role could they all play in supporting dads to feel acknowledged and part of the perinatal journey?

Normalising Difficult Feelings

You as an individual:

• How confident do you feel in understanding dads’ perinatal wellbeing? Are there things you would like to read or research further?

• What conversations do you have with dads about perinatal wellbeing and mental health?

• How could you weave in more information about mental health, emotions and wellbeing in your interactions with dads?

You as part of the system:

• Who else in your system would routinely be discussing perinatal mental health and wellbeing with dads? Who would not?

• Are there important points in the system where these interactions are not happening at the moment?

Destigmatising Support

You as an individual:

• How much do you know about what is available for dads and families in your local area?

• In your role, what could you do to remind dads that services are for them too?

You as part of the system:

• What other touch points are there in your system for dads to find out about the support available to them? This could be people or places (like waiting rooms etc.)

• How do any services within your system frame the services they provide? What could be done to use language, marketing strategies and planning of services to further encourage dads to access them?