Enhanced Father Involvement: Recommendations and Outcomes From a Community of Practice of Midwives

This practice initiative aimed (a) to implement strategies encouraging midwives to improve father involvement, (b) to describe its perceived impact, and (c) to gather recommendations for broader implementation. Two communities of practice were formed to exchange insights on father involvement strategies. Midwives implemented various changes and reflected on their impact. Successful strategies comprised simple changes (e.g., addressing both fathers and mothers) and larger organizational changes (e.g., applying work/care distribution discussions). To implement this on a broader scale, midwives formulated recommendations aiming at midwives (e.g., increasing awareness; providing courses) and policy makers (e.g., providing financial compensation for midwives to involve fathers). We demonstrated that (a) minor and major changes can be made to enhance father involvement in midwifery care, (b) a community of practice can enhance awareness on an underrepresented issue, and (c) changes are needed within midwifery and policy to increase awareness and enable father involvement.