KYLIE MORRIS, HOST: It might have felt daunting, terrifying, thrilling all at the same time. Did I mention exhausting? That was my experience, definitely. Now, a new national committee is examining whether new parents are getting the help they need, mothers and fathers, with data showing that one in 10 dads experience postnatal depression, while 80 per cent never received any formal parenting support. Before I chat to Hunter MP Dan Repacholi, I’d love to hear from you if any ideas come to mind, or you want to share any experiences that you’ve had while you’re hearing Dan and I chat. You can text me on 0487 991 233 or call on 1300 33 1233. Hello there, Dan Repacholi.
DAN REPACHOLI MP, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MEN’S HEALTH: Good afternoon, Kylie. Good afternoon, listeners. It’s a pleasure to be with you.
MORRIS: Lovely to have you on. So you are not only the Hunter MP, you’re also the nation’s Special Envoy for Men’s Health, and you yourself are a dad. That’s important in the context of this conversation. Tell me, what’s this committee looking for from the nation’s dads?
REPACHOLI: So this committee just wants to hear about what dads are going through, and to see what we can do better to make sure that not only the mums and the babies are being looked after, which is really, really important, but also the dads as well. Whilst the mums and the babies are getting all the checks they need to make sure they’ve got a good start when that new baby comes home, we should be looking at what we can do to make sure dads are in this picture as well. Because if we have dads in this picture who are getting the help they need in one of the biggest changes of their lives, and I’ve been through it twice, then we’re doing the right things for them as well.
MORRIS: Were you surprised by the number of dads experiencing postnatal depression or not receiving formal parenting support? I mean, those figures are pretty, well, they’re certainly showing that there are many men who are being left behind when it comes to their experiences of early fatherhood.
REPACHOLI: If you had asked me that question two years ago, Kylie, I would be surprised. But since I’ve been travelling around the country talking to men in all different situations, younger men and older men, and new dads as well, this is something that I have heard around the place.
MORRIS: And what are they telling you, Dan?
REPACHOLI: They’re telling us that there’s help for the mum, there’s help for the baby, but quite often there’s no help for them whatsoever. They feel like they’re just left in the corner to carry the handbag and the baby bag, and to make sure that the car seat’s in the car.
MORRIS: Can I just say, all important jobs, Dan?
REPACHOLI: No, they are all very, very important jobs. But dads are definitely more than that as well. And we need to make sure that we’re preparing them for that change in their life too, to be able to give that new baby the best start. And the best start in life for that new baby is having mums and dads who are well looked after and who are looking after that baby as best they can.
MORRIS: I mean, can you speak to your own experience, Dan? What was becoming a dad like for you?
REPACHOLI: It was a massive change in my life and my wife’s life as well, and I did sometimes feel like I was just there to go and earn a wage to make sure that we were still getting by, and not there to be a parent sometimes. And because my lovely wife breastfed our kids, I didn’t get the joys of giving them a bottle or any of that sort of stuff. But I did help sometimes during the evening. My wife disputes that claim.
MORRIS: Maybe we should have got her on at the same time, Dan.
REPACHOLI: I’m glad you didn’t because the listeners might look at me very differently. But no, it is a massive change in a dad’s life. It’s a change in the whole family dynamic. So we do need to make sure we’re hearing from men, hearing from women, to see what we can do better to make sure that we’re giving everybody the best start in a change of their world.
MORRIS: And Dan, the committee is looking at dads as part of its examination of women’s health, which might feel a bit counterintuitive, but I’m guessing it’s pretty well documented, isn’t it, that there are health benefits for women too when dads are feeling better supported?
REPACHOLI: There certainly is, and when dads feel like they’re supported and feel like they can have a conversation and get out there and talk about the things that are really troubling them, it helps everybody. It helps the men, the women, the babies, the kids. It helps the whole family dynamic if everybody’s healthy and happy.
MORRIS: The committee’s called for public submissions. Dan, tell me when they close, and how other people who might be listening can get involved?
REPACHOLI: Jump onto the website and they’ll be able to follow links on there. Submissions close for this one on the ninth of October, and they should have a report out sometime after that.
MORRIS: Public hearings, am I right?
REPACHOLI: There are public hearings happening all around the country. Marielle Smith will be leading those, and I’m really looking forward to hearing and seeing what comes out of these public hearings, because this is how we can really make sure that we are doing the right thing by not only the mums and bubs, but also the dads as well.
MORRIS: Excellent. Well, it sounds like a fantastic project, and obviously the more people who get involved, the better the help can be tailored toward dads. So if you’re listening to this and you do have some opinions or experiences to share, as Dan said, jump on one of the government websites and certainly look out for those public hearings. Thanks so much for your participation, Dan. Much appreciated.
REPACHOLI: Cheers. Pleasure being with you all. To all the blokes out there, please make sure you give your experiences, because the more blokes that we can get out there to have this conversation, the more dads that can have this conversation with us, the more we can be informed to really help future dads.
MORRIS: Thanks so much, Dan.
REPACHOLI: Cheers.
MORRIS: That’s Dan Repacholi, Member for Hunter and Special Envoy for Men’s Health. It’s in that capacity that he’s playing a role around this new national committee, trying to better help dads when it comes to their first experiences of fatherhood.