Toward Better Understanding of How Fathers Contribute to Their Offspring’s Health

Fathers’ time spent involved in child-rearing activities has more than doubled since 1965,¹ necessitating researchers, policy makers, and clinicians to better understand the unique ways in which fathers contribute to child health. Research in the past 2 decades has found that fathers contribute to child health in a variety of ways that have an impact not just on the father but on his partner and child as well. For example, there is evidence that father involvement increases the likelihood of the mother receiving appropriate prenatal care,² reduces infant mortality,³ and improves breastfeeding rates.⁴ Biologically, paternal age has been associated with a number of child health outcomes, including autism and bipolar disease, although the exact mechanism is not known.⁵ These examples raise the question of how fathers might contribute to their offspring’s health before the children are even born and what preconception or prenatal effects fathers...