Young People in Focus

Home » Examples of Young Fathers Work » Group Work - Case Studies » Stockport

Stockport: Specialist Midwives for Young Parents (Mothers and Fathers)

Jackie Hughes and Fiona Blackwell are two specialist midwives for young parents, employed by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and working in the Stockport area. Funded by the Teenage Pregnancy Unit, and working as part of the borough-wide Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, their remit is to look specifically at ways of reducing second pregnancies in teenage mothers as well as supporting young parents (mothers and fathers) more broadly. As part of this work, young fathers are invited to attend a Young Parents’ Active Birth Workshop for young mothers and young fathers which is held once a month on Saturday’s between 11am-2pm at Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport. Running since 2006, the aim of these young parent specific antenatal classes is to discuss issues around pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting, to practice practical ways to help cope with labour and birth and also to visit the delivery rooms, see the birth pools, and get the opportunity to ask questions in a relaxed, informal setting. The groups are small, with up to 10 young women coming along with the young father-to-be/partner, mum or other supporter. Lunch and refreshments are also provided by the midwives.

‘They [the workshops] provide a first class opportunity to discuss labour, childbirth, and early parenthood with young fathers and young mothers’.

(Jackie, Hughes, Specialist Midwife for Young Parents)

As part of the session, time is allocated specifically for young fathers to get together informally to discuss their fears, concerns, excitement about the pregnancy, adapting to becoming a father, as well as their experiences of maternity services to-date. Following attendance at the first workshop, the prospective parents are then invited to attend a second session which looks at more specific issues around child care such as feeding, bathing, nappy changing, crying babies, and so on. There is also a strong emphasis on reducing unwanted subsequent pregnancies.

Although slow to start, the Active Birth Workshops now regularly attract young fathers. Jackie Hughes reports that it is unusual to have less than two young fathers attend at any one time with their partner, and that on occasion, up to six young fathers have attended in a single session.

‘Dads do come to the sessions so we have rather a captive audience… in the very first class we just had one young couple. The second class we had none, and in the third class five or six young parents [mothers and fathers] attended. Since then attendance by young fathers has been fairly regular.’

The Active Birth Workshops for young parents are advertised using flyers via the community midwives and health visitors, the local young people's health clinic, as well as through partner agencies such as social services, Connexions, and the Youth Offending Team.

Next Steps

Jackie Hughes and Fiona Blackwell currently offer young fathers who attend the class an information booklet produced by Working With Men (Young father? Or about to be become one?). They are also currently working on developing a support pack for young fathers which will be distributed when they attend the Active Birth Workshops with their partner. Young mothers have had a similar pack for some time. As part of its development, the midwives are gathering relevant information from their partner agencies in health, education, social care, and the youth service for inclusion in the pack. It will then be presented for consultation to young fathers attending the workshops and other young men in the area.

Contact:
Copies of the flyers for the Young Parents Active Birth Workshops can be obtained by contacting Jackie Hughes or Fiona Blackwell (Specialist Midwife for Young Parents).

Tel: 07876 230 822

Email:
Jacqueline.Hughes@stockport.nhs.uk
Fiona.blackwell@stockport.nhs.uk