NHS accused of ‘writing out’ fathers

NHS guidance is airbrushing fathers out of parenting, putting them at risk of being seen as a “dispensable extra”, a think tank has claimed.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) accused the NHS of cutting fathers “out of the script on parenting”, with mention of them apparently vanishing from official documents.

The CSJ said that NHS antenatal guidelines now referred to “birthing partners” instead of “fathers”, with critics blaming the change on “political correctness”. Polling undertaken by the think tank revealed that seven out of 10 new fathers felt they had been sidelined during their partners’ pregnancy and made to feel like a “spare part”.

Meanwhile, six in 10 said they did not have a single conversation with a midwife about their role during the pregnancy, according to a Survation survey of 1,000 men commissioned by the CSJ.

Andy Cook, chief executive of the CSJ, said: “We are in danger as a society of telling fathers they don’t matter – that they are a dispensable extra for children. That could not be further from the truth – fathers form a crucial pillar in their child’s life. The more fathers are involved from the very outset, the better for the child’s future.

“Regular contact with a father figure boosts children’s self-esteem and cognitive skills including reasoning and language development.”

The research also highlighted concerns about a disparity in the level of help and advice available to fathers from low-income households versus those from higher income households.

Some 55 per cent of low-income fathers told the CSJ survey they were left to “pick it up themselves”, compared with 29 per cent of higher income fathers. Mr Cook said: “Children growing up in low-income households have significantly improved chances of escaping poverty where they have an active father figure at home. Their risk of being in poverty is reduced by 25 per cent.

“The evidence is overwhelming that marriage remains by far the best structure to ensure a family stays together. Married couples are nearly three times more likely to still be together by the time their child reaches 15 than unmarried couples.”

David Lammy, the Labour co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on fatherhood, said: “The consequences of a father falling out of a child’s life are hugely significant.

“This report sets out some steps the Government could take to improve engagement with fathers and what more our public services could do to provide that support.”

David Davies, the Tory MP, told the Sunday Express that removing fathers from guidance was “another example of the way political correctness is chipping away at the cornerstones of society”.

But NHS England said: “The NHS website contains hundreds of references to fathers.”