African American Fathers as a Solution to the Maternal Health Crisis

ABSTRACT

The research is limited to the role of African American (AA) fathers in maternal health. African American fathers are largely not included in perinatal care, and their contribution may be essential in addressing the Black maternal health disparity crisis. The purpose of this conceptual paper is to examine the evidence of African American fathers involvement in supporting maternal health during the perinatal period. This conceptual paper will summarize research findings and will focus on 1) the evolution of the concept of fatherhood and the role of African American fathers; 2) the extent of African American fathers engagement during the perinatal period; and 3) the potential for African American fathers to play a key role in improving maternal health. Findings from this paper will enhance the evidence base on fathers’ involvement in maternal health, highlight the research gaps, and opportunities to focus on African American fathers in addressing maternal morbidity and mortality among African American women.

KEYWORDS:

• Father involvement
• African American fathers
• father involvement in perinatal
• Black maternal health crisis
• father involvement in maternal health

Acknowledgments

Conceptualization, Tasha Alston and Esa Davis; Writing—original draft preparation, Tasha Alston.; Writing—review and editing, Tasha Alston, Marie Norman, Doris Rubio, Esa Davis

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest, Esa Davis is a member of the US Preventive Services Task Force and information in this article should not be attributed to the USPSTF.

Additional information

Funding

There are no funders to report for this submission.