Exploring Partners' Part in Shaping the Home Food Environment During the Transition to Fatherhood.
Chagit Peles1, Mary C J Rudolf1, Danielle Shloim2
1Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed 1311502, Israel.
Nutrients
|January 8, 2025
Summary
First-time fathers play a vital role in establishing a healthy home food environment (PHFE) during pregnancy. The first pregnancy is a key opportunity to educate expectant couples on creating supportive nutritional settings for their families.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Maternal and Child Nutrition
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- The physical home food environment (PHFE) significantly influences family dietary habits.
- Limited research exists on expectant fathers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning the PHFE.
- First-time pregnancy presents a critical window for establishing healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore expectant fathers' perspectives on the PHFE.
- To assess the role of the first pregnancy as a teachable moment for enhancing the couple's PHFE.
- To identify opportunities for intervention to support healthy home food environments.
Main Methods:
- A two-phase longitudinal qualitative study.
- In-depth interviews and questionnaires with 15 male partners of primigravida women.
- Descriptive and thematic analysis of collected data.
Main Results:
- Expectant fathers recognize the importance of joint decisions regarding the PHFE.
- Pregnancy motivates a desire for healthier home food environments.
- Challenges include food accessibility, and a tendency to maintain existing family eating patterns ('the child eats what we eat').
Conclusions:
- Expectant fathers are key influencers in 'nestrition' (nutritional nesting) during first pregnancies.
- Engaging fathers is crucial for long-term family nutrition and establishing supportive home environments.
- There is a need for targeted couple-based education on PHFE during early pregnancy.
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