Baywood OB Presents:
Fatherhood 101
MESA, Ariz.. (June 12, 2008) – With Father’s Day just around the corner, Banner Baywood Medical Center (BBMC) has presented Fatherhood 101 for new dads…and current dads who might need a refresher course. Cathy Townsend, director of Women’s and Infant Services, offers the following tips:
Fatherhood 101
- Practice, practice, practice: The only way you are going to get better at caring for your baby is to learn by doing. Hold, bathe, change, play, console and sing to your baby.
- Be a partner to Mom and a daddy to the baby: Actively share responsibility for childcare and the household. Be fully involved in your baby’s care.
- Communicate: Let your partner know how proud you are to be a father, and what role you want to play with your child. Let her know you want to be a competent and engaged parent.
- Your baby won’t break: Go ahead and hold your baby as much as possible. You can’t spoil your child with too much love.
- Support Mom: Emotional ups and downs are normal. Allow her to vent, laugh and cry. Try your best to be a good listener.
- Support breastfeeding: Be proud that your partner is giving your baby the best baby food in the world. Let her know you are proud of her efforts.
- Get involved: You can do everything for your baby except breastfeed. So go ahead and play, cuddle, change, bathe and do anything else for your new baby and any other children in the family.
- Seek support: Fatherhood is the biggest job you will ever have. Talk with other new and experienced dads. Discuss your job and frustration with friends and family. For 24-hour support, call Women’s and Infant Services at (480) 321-4455 or (480) 321-4310.
The Banner Baywood Infant Parent Group meets every Friday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Women’s Center. The class is free and open to the community. Childbirth education classes are offered Wednesday and Thursday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. The classes are taught by registered nurses from the obstetrics unit. There is a small fee.
First-time father and pediatrician Dave Gross, MD, said being a father has really affected him. Gross, 37, said he learned a lot when his daughter, Addison, was born in January.
“Being a dad really affected me in being a pediatrician, and how much I’ve learned from her,” he said. “What a different perspective I get when I walk in the room in the morning.”
Mesa Valley Metro driver Weldon James Anderson, 33, is not new to fatherhood, but his latest delivery brought something different. In addition to his four children, Anderson’s family welcomed fraternal twins: Weldon James Anderson, II and Brooklyn Semaj Anderson. The twins were born June 9.
And as a seasoned father, Anderson said, “There is nothing more fulfilling than to see love brought onto this earth. You just sit and look at them and be in awe.”
About Banner Baywood Medical Center
Banner Baywood Medical Center (BBMC), a 332-bed facility, also facing significant growth. Its recent $97 million expansion added a seven story, 123-bed tower to this campus. Both hospitals have first-class physicians working with an experienced staff provide the latest medical technology in an environment of clinical excellence, compassion and healing. They are part of Banner Health, Arizona’s largest health care provider and second largest private employer.
