Credit score: MART PRODUCTION from Pexels
Fathers who take not less than two weeks of go away after their kid’s start are considerably extra prone to report longer breastfeeding period, based on a current survey led by scientists at Northwestern College and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Youngsters’s Hospital of Chicago.
“Our study shows fathers play a key role in breastfeeding success—and time off lets them provide crucial support when it matters most,” stated lead examine creator Dr. John James Parker, an assistant professor of pediatrics and medication at Northwestern College Feinberg Faculty of Medication, pediatrician at Lurie Youngsters’s and internist at Northwestern Medication.
The findings, revealed in BMC Public Well being, present the primary evaluation, utilizing father-reported information, of the affect of paternity go away on breastfeeding within the U.S. Breastfeeding gives necessary well being advantages for each moms and infants, but charges within the U.S. stay suboptimal. Solely 46.5% of infants are solely breastfed via three months.
Utilizing information from the PRAMS for Dads survey, scientists analyzed solutions from a consultant pattern of 240 employed fathers within the state of Georgia.
They discovered that fathers who took two or extra weeks of go away had been 31% extra prone to report their toddler being breastfed at eight weeks in comparison with those that took lower than two weeks.
Amongst households who began breastfeeding, these the place dads took not less than two weeks of go away had a 25% larger fee of continued breastfeeding at eight weeks than these the place dads took much less break day.
This was true even after adjusting for paternal, maternal and toddler traits.
“Fathers can support breastfeeding by taking on hands-on baby care—changing diapers, burping, rocking and feeding expressed milk—while also ensuring mothers get the nutrition, hydration and rest they need to recover,” Parker stated. “All these father-supportive activities are easier when fathers have more generous leave.”
The examine additionally discovered disparities in paid go away entry, with white fathers extra prone to obtain paid go away than fathers from different racial and ethnic teams. In complete, 73% of employed fathers within the pattern reported taking go away, with barely over 50% receiving some paid go away. Fathers who took paid go away had been extra prone to take not less than two weeks off.
‘In medical coaching, nobody talked about involving dads’
Parker, a father of three, says his personal expertise round his kids’s births impressed his analysis.
“When I became a father, I realized how absent dads were from the conversation,” he stated. “In medical training, no one talked about involving dads or why that mattered.”
A turning level got here when his pediatrician gave him recommendations on supporting his spouse with breastfeeding.
“It made me feel part of the team,” he stated. “Now, I do the same for the dads I work with.”
Paternity go away within the U.S.
The U.S. lags behind different high-income nations in offering paid parental go away. A 2022 examine discovered solely 13% of employers provide paid paternity go away to all their male staff, and most fathers who receives a commission go away take just one week or much less.
13 states and Washington, D.C., have handed paid household go away legal guidelines, although solely 9 states have totally applied them.
“These disparities highlight challenges for families and underscore the need for more research,” Parker stated.
Extra info:
John James Parker et al, Fathers’ work go away and toddler breastfeeding in a state-representative pattern of fathers in Georgia, United States, BMC Public Well being (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-22013-x
Supplied by
Northwestern College
Quotation:
Longer paternity go away is linked to longer toddler breastfeeding (2025, February 25)
retrieved 26 February 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-02-longer-paternity-linked-infant-breastfeeding.html
This doc is topic to copyright. Aside from any honest dealing for the aim of personal examine or analysis, no
half could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is supplied for info functions solely.
