STEPH FERRIER, HOST: Support services for new mums have become stronger in recent times, but a new parliamentary inquiry on postpartum care also wants more support for new dads. Dan Repacholi is the Special Envoy for Men’s Health, and he joins us now from Cessnock. Thanks for coming on News Breakfast.
DAN REPACHOLI MP, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MEN’S HEALTH: Good morning, Steph, and good morning to you all.
FERRIER: Well, first of all, just what do you think is needed for dads out there, particularly as they’re facing some of the hardest times of their lives?
REPACHOLI: Spot on. I’m a dad of two beautiful young girls, 11 and 13. So going back those years when I first became a dad, it was scary. It was daunting. We genuinely had no idea what we were doing as a dad, and there hadn’t been the support there that we needed to make sure that we’re looking after our beautiful partners, our wives, the mothers, and our kids as best we possibly can. So we’re calling out to dads, new dads, to reach out, have a conversation, and let us know what we can do to make sure that they’re being looked after as best they can, so they can give the best care to their newborn baby and the mother as well.
FERRIER: It’s certainly a wonderful time, but it’s also sometimes a time filled with a lot of anxiety. Dan, just what sort of information and research is known about the risk factors for mental health for new dads?
REPACHOLI: So we know one in 10 Aussie blokes and Aussie dads in this country, especially new dads, go through some challenging times, and we need to hear what those times are, what causes those challenges to happen for them throughout that period of time. And to do that, we need to have the conversations with the mums, with the dads, to really make sure that we’re looking after both in this brand new period of their life, which is forever changing. It’s not like a plant; you just put a bit of water on and it keeps growing. This is something that has to stay by your side the whole way through their childhood and into their adult life as well. So we really want to hear from those dads to see what works, to see what doesn’t work, and to see what we can do differently to really make sure that we’re looking after the whole family unit.
FERRIER: And nipping any concerns in the bud early as well, because while many pregnant women are routinely offered mental health screening, I’ve read that there’s only about 2 per cent of men who are being screened. Is that a surprising statistic for you?
REPACHOLI: It’s not surprising for me at all. Going back to when my wife was pregnant, there was a lot of help and a lot of support for her, and so there should be as well. But there should be some help for the blokes and for the dads as well in this case, because if we can get there early and get some help for them along the way, it makes that journey much easier for everybody. It makes it an easier time to go through that first period, and then also the parenting after that. Because we know that the mums do need care for that period, and we sometimes feel as blokes that we’re a provider, that we can’t take the time off to do it, that we can’t give the support that everybody deserves, whether that’s your workplace, your family, your friends or the mum. It’s about having those conversations and really making sure that we’re hitting that target as well. We have blokes who are there going through this period with their partners. Why don’t we do a mental health check-in on them as well whilst they’re there? It is a captured audience because they want to be involved in the mum’s life. They want to be involved in the baby’s life as best they can. It’s just sometimes we need a little steer in the right direction to make sure that we’re doing it okay.
FERRIER: What else is this inquiry looking into?
REPACHOLI: So this will be looking into what the mums need as well, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes of this inquiry that Marielle Smith is running, and the Senate Select Committee is running on this, because we want to hear from mums, we want to hear from new dads as well in this space, so that we can really make sure that this family unit is being looked after the best they can. Because we know if you have early intervention in this space, where you’ve got mums getting the help they need, where you’ve got dads getting the help they need, that is the best chance that family has of growing to be a beautiful young family together.
FERRIER: Absolutely. Well, Dan, thank you so much for your time to chat with us today.
REPACHOLI: Thank you very much. Have a great day.