Brief videos shown in hospital newborn nurseries may effectively educate first-time fathers on infant care topics, including safe sleep, infant crying, and car safety, according to a pilot study published in the journal Pediatrics Open Science. The study was announced on June 19 and focused on common parental knowledge gaps previously targeted by educational interventions for mothers.
Mikaela Thompson from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine led the study under the supervision of Craig Garfield, MD, an expert on fathers' role in child development at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. "New fathers often report feeling like bystanders in healthcare settings, with parenting supports primarily focused on the mother from pregnancy through the postpartum," said Thompson. "Our study recognizes the importance of involving fathers in child health, and especially in infant injury prevention, from the very beginning of becoming a father."
Previous research has indicated that unintentional injuries related to unsafe sleep practices, frustration with crying infants, and improper car seat use are leading causes of death among young children. Dr. Garfield said, "The videos in our study on key injury prevention topics are a novel educational intervention soon after infant birth that offers unique opportunities to reach fathers who may not be able to come to infant healthcare visits." He continued, "We show that the newborn nursery is indeed a viable setting for father-focused instruction—fathers may actually be looking for this sort of information at this time."
The pilot study recruited 167 first-time fathers of full-term infants who completed an initial survey before viewing brief evidence-based videos featuring a real father and his two-week-old infant with content presented by pediatricians or childhood injury-prevention experts. Participants also completed pre- and post-viewing knowledge surveys as well as additional follow-up questions one week and one month after discharge.
Researchers found significant improvements in knowledge about safe sleep and managing infant crying immediately following video exposure; however, these gains were not fully sustained after discharge from the hospital nursery setting. Knowledge regarding rear-facing car seat use remained high among participants throughout.
Dr. Garfield said, "Our finding suggests that at-home reinforcement or 'booster sessions' might be needed to maintain learning and support behaviors, especially in the first year." He added, "Text messaging might help support study retention. In the future, video-based, father-focused intervention could be expanded to other clinical settings such as the neonatal intensive care unit and well-child visits." Funding for this project came from an Ascend at the Aspen Institute Impact Grant.
