Dr. Shefaly Shorey’s research on fatherhood provides a comprehensive view of the critical role fathers play in promoting maternal, infant, and family health. Her findings call for a shift in healthcare systems toward more inclusive, family-centered care models that actively engage fathers at every stage of the maternal healthcare journey. By addressing barriers to fathers’ involvement, promoting paternal mental health, and offering tailored educational interventions, her research underscores the need to better support fathers as key contributors to maternal and child well-being. Dr. Shorey’s work also highlights the importance of recognizing and addressing the mental health needs of fathers, ensuring that they have the resources and support necessary to thrive in their roles as caregivers.

Dr. Shefaly Shorey’s research emphasizes that fathers play an essential role in ensuring positive maternal and child health outcomes. Fathers’ emotional, practical, and psychological support to mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum phases has been shown to significantly reduce maternal stress and anxiety.

• Improving Maternal Well-being: Fathers who are actively engaged during pregnancy and after childbirth help create a more supportive home environment. This involvement contributes to reducing the risks of postnatal depression in mothers, as fathers share caregiving responsibilities, provide emotional support, and foster a sense of partnership. Fathers’ contributions also reduce maternal exhaustion and anxiety by participating in daily infant care tasks, such as feeding, changing, and comforting the newborn.
• Impact on Infant Development: Dr. Shorey’s studies also show that fathers’ engagement positively influences infant development. Active father-child interaction, particularly during the early bonding stages, promotes cognitive and emotional development in children. Fathers who take part in caregiving tasks such as reading, playing, and soothing the baby help establish a secure attachment, which is crucial for the infant’s emotional and psychological well-being.

Despite the positive impact fathers can have, Dr. Shorey’s research identifies significant barriers that often prevent fathers from taking an active role in maternal and child health.

• Cultural and Societal Expectations: In many cultures, traditional gender roles continue to define mothers as the primary caregivers, while fathers are expected to play more secondary or financial roles. These societal norms often limit fathers’ involvement in hands-on caregiving tasks, leaving them unsure of their roles or feeling excluded from the maternal healthcare process.

• Lack of Inclusion in Healthcare Services: Dr. Shorey’s findings suggest that healthcare services often focus exclusively on mothers during prenatal and postnatal care, providing minimal attention to fathers. Many fathers report feeling sidelined during doctor’s visits, delivery, and postpartum care because the healthcare system lacks resources, education, and initiatives aimed at involving them in the process.

• Unpreparedness and Lack of Knowledge: Many fathers, particularly first-time fathers, feel unprepared and unsure of their role as caregivers. The lack of paternal education in healthcare settings means that fathers often miss out on essential knowledge about infant care, breastfeeding, maternal mental health, and their role in supporting the mother during the postpartum period. This unpreparedness can contribute to lower confidence and reduced involvement.

One of Dr. Shorey’s significant contributions to fatherhood research is her focus on paternal mental health, a topic that has traditionally been overlooked in maternal and child healthcare studies.

• Stress and Anxiety in New Fathers: Dr. Shorey’s research indicates that fathers, like mothers, can experience stress, anxiety, and even postnatal depression during the transition to parenthood. Fathers often face external pressures such as financial responsibilities, coupled with the internal pressure of adjusting to a new identity as a caregiver. Fathers may also experience feelings of inadequacy, particularly if they feel excluded from the caregiving process or unsure of how to support their partner effectively.

• Undiagnosed Postnatal Depression: While maternal postnatal depression is a widely recognized phenomenon, Dr. Shorey’s research shows that paternal postnatal depression often goes undiagnosed. Fathers may feel reluctant to seek help due to societal stigmas surrounding men’s mental health, which contributes to underreporting. This lack of recognition and support for fathers’ mental health can have a ripple effect on the family dynamic, as stressed or disengaged fathers are less able to provide effective support to their partners and children.

A major finding in Dr. Shorey’s research is the close connection between fathers’ involvement and maternal mental health. When fathers are actively involved in caregiving, mothers report lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression during the postpartum period.

• Emotional Support to Mothers: Fathers who provide emotional support during the postpartum period play a crucial role in helping mothers cope with the challenges of early motherhood. Dr. Shorey’s research indicates that mothers who receive consistent emotional support from their partners are more likely to report positive postpartum experiences and have lower rates of postnatal depression.

• Shared Caregiving Responsibilities: Fathers who share caregiving tasks, such as feeding, diapering, and soothing the baby, alleviate some of the physical and emotional burdens placed on mothers. Dr. Shorey’s findings show that shared caregiving reduces maternal exhaustion and helps mothers recover more quickly from childbirth. Fathers who engage in hands-on caregiving also contribute to better mental health outcomes for both parents, fostering a more collaborative and supportive family environment.

One of the key takeaways from Dr. Shorey’s research is the need for healthcare systems to adopt more family-centered care models that actively involve fathers in the prenatal, childbirth, and postnatal phases.

• Inclusion in Prenatal Education: Dr. Shorey advocates for healthcare services to offer antenatal classes and prenatal education programs that are inclusive of fathers. These programs should provide information specifically tailored to fathers, educating them on how to support their partners during pregnancy and childbirth. Fathers who are equipped with knowledge about labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery can provide more effective support to mothers and reduce the stress associated with childbirth.

• Active Participation in Childbirth: Her findings also emphasize the importance of fathers’ presence and involvement during childbirth. Fathers who are engaged in the delivery process report feeling more connected to both their partner and their newborn, which strengthens the early bonding experience. Dr. Shorey recommends that hospitals and healthcare providers encourage fathers to participate in labor support, such as helping mothers during contractions, assisting with breathing exercises, and being present for skin-to-skin contact with the newborn after birth.

• Postnatal Involvement and Support: Postnatal care should extend beyond the mother and involve the father as well. Dr. Shorey’s research shows that when fathers are encouraged to participate in postnatal care, such as attending pediatric appointments and participating in feeding routines, they contribute to a more balanced caregiving dynamic. This involvement helps reduce maternal burnout and fosters a positive co-parenting environment.