Maternal and child health nurses are the front line of perinatal family health — and the first to notice when a father is peripheral, struggling, or absent. This page gives your team the resources, the language, and the referral pathway to act on what you see.
Every MCHN knows the families where the father is on the edge of the frame — present at the appointment but disengaged, or absent altogether. The current system gives you nowhere specific to send him. These resources change that.
of new fathers experience postnatal depression — and unlike mothers, they are almost never screened for it. The MCH check is often the only professional contact a new father has.
of the variance in a mother's wellbeing is explained by early paternal positive affect (Shapiro, Gottman & Carrère, 2000). Supporting the father is supporting the whole family.
Australia's first council-funded father-specific early intervention program (RAD DADS) was built here in the Macedon Ranges. This is a local resource, not a referral interstate.
Practical, evidence-based, and designed for the real conditions of a maternal and child health consultation. Request the resource kit and we'll send the current versions by email.
A laminated, parent-facing card explaining serve-and-return, cortisol regulation, and why a father's engagement is the developmental variable. Hand it to a dad in five minutes.
Request the card →A simple script for raising father engagement at the 4-week or 4-month check — non-judgemental, evidence-anchored, and designed to open a door rather than create defensiveness.
Request the script →A one-page reference: the specific indicators that warrant a referral, the three tiers of support available, and exactly how to refer. No referral letter required.
Request the guide →A warm, plain-language handout for parents that names the Invisible Start and normalises seeking support. Useful for both partners — and often the thing that gets a father to make contact.
Request the handout →You decide how far a family needs to go. The pathway is designed so that the lowest-barrier option — a free community program or a baby massage class — catches most fathers before clinical intervention is needed.
Hand any new dad the Brain Builders card. Five minutes, no referral, no stigma. Plants the idea that his engagement matters and that support exists. Brain Builders →
Refer to Baby Massage for Dads or the free Bringing Baby Home program. Low barrier, group format, no clinical label. The dad who won't see a counsellor will come to a baby massage class. Baby Massage →
For paternal PND, established disengagement, or couple strain needing clinical work — refer directly. A phone call or email is enough. Gabriel contacts the family within one business day. Refer now →
Gabriel works with MCH teams, councils, community health services, and early years networks to build father-inclusive practice into existing services — through training, co-designed programs, and ongoing referral partnership.
The complete kit — Brain Builders card, consultation script, referral guide, and parent handout — sent as print-ready PDFs. No cost, no catch. Use the partnership form above, or email directly.
Whether it's a resource for your team, training, or a referral — start the conversation.