Strategies to Help Smoking Mothers Quit
Smoke-free spaces will help to ensure a more rapid decline in female smoking rates, with flow-on effects for rates of maternal smoking, promoting the health of mothers and their unborn babies.
Men and Miscarriage – The Process of Grief and Healing
“Something's wrong,” my wife said. “What’s the matter?” I asked nonchalantly. “I think I am having a miscarriage,” my wife replied, with a touch of panic in her voice. Trying to sound like I was in control, I said, “We had better get you to the hospital.” Together we whisked our four children under 9 years of age to our family babysitter. From there the short 8-minute drive to the hospital ...
Science of Dad and the ‘Father Effect’
When you analyse the social science about the importance of dads, it is unequivocal. Dads are vitally important to their children’s success in a myriad of ways. As George Herbert said, “One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” This is not speculation -- it is reality. Joshua A Krisch puts the case well for this in an article titled "The Science of Dad and the ‘Father Effect’". The subtitle says ...
Why Being a Tough Mother is like Doing Tough Mudder
As parents, friendship and community support are essential for getting through the ups and downs of parenting. My personal Facebook newsfeed has been filled with pictures of mums giving Tough Mudder a go. I look at the pictures of mud and shudder because I know that it’s not something I want to do. But I have learned never to say never, because whenever I say never, I find myself a year ...
New Dads Can Experience Pregnancy Hell Too
My wife went through pregnancy hell. And so did I, though my issues only surfaced years later. To all the dads out there: pregnancy may be tough for you too, and that's okay. If I made it, so will you. I remember the apprehension and nerves when my first child was born. She was on time, and her arrival – and our time in the hospital – was much faster than ...
Our Children are the Answer, Not the Problem to Our Environmental Challenges
Emily Holleman a writer for The Cut, - part of New York Magazine’s ‘One Great Story’ section - recently condemned bearing children in the age of the “apocalypse,” selfish. As a committed father of five, I was intensely interested in what she had to say. Holleman’s reflection on anxiety and personal loss in a time of uncertainty is the better part of what becomes an environmentalist “sermon”. An autobiographical piece, the ...
Dad-life is a Verb
Dad-life involves both being and doing. In a word, fatherhood is a vocation. The Latin equivalent is vocare -- “to call.” Dad-life is therefore a “calling.” It’s much more than just another job. https://youtu.be/Eor3779ECFI For sure, fatherhood is full-time work. We’re required to be on the scene until the good Lord retires us. This will mean being waste-deep in the complexity of relationships. Wading through life’s trenches carrying responsibility and ...
Dad and Pregnancy: Number 2 Makes Us Four
Editor's Note: It’s been nearly three months since we were here, but when we last updated the story of dad-life for our author, his wife had just been told that she was pregnant with number two. Life had just gotten down to some sort of order, and everything was about to be turned upside-down, all over again! ___ Agony and Ecstasy: One man’s journey through fatherhood. So, here we go again. ...
Pregnancy to Birth: How Not to Panic
Fatherhood; it’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. Sorry Charles Dickens for stealing your thunder, but it’s true. Being a dad is one of the most wonderful things to ever happen to me, as well as one of the most terrifying. I’ve been a father for 11 years now, which is long enough to be able to reflect somewhat on the journey so far, and also long enough ...
