Co-Designed Best Practice Principles for the Care of Fathers and Non-Birthing Parents Exposed to Perinatal Trauma: A Participatory Action Research Study.
5 affiliations
- 1Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
- 2Redcliffe Hospital, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia.
- 3Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
- 4Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
- 5School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
Objective
To co-design best practice principles (BPPs) for providing compassionate, holistic support to fathers and non-birthing parents exposed to perinatal trauma.Design
Participatory action research methodology to generate qualitative data.Setting, participants
Face-to-face workshops were conducted across the Greater Brisbane area and online workshops were held for national consultation from 23 April 2024 to 27 May 2025. Fathers and non-birthing parents with lived experience of perinatal trauma and a multidisciplinary team of health and community care professionals were included. Separate consumer (n = 11) and professional (n = 30) reference groups were established to authentically represent lived experience and professional perspectives on caring for birthing families. The co-designed BPPs were subsequently validated in National Workshops with consumers from diverse backgrounds (n = 74).Results
The co-design process generated 24 initial themes, which were iteratively consolidated by consensus into four BPPs: (1) compassionate and inclusive engagement; (2) policy and legislative reform; (3) education and learning opportunities; and (4) mental health screening and support for fathers and non-birthing parents. Accompanying practice and policy recommendations for each BPP were developed.Conclusions
Fathers, non-birthing parents and healthcare and community care professionals co-designed a suite of BPPs to address gaps in perinatal healthcare following exposure to pregnancy and birth trauma. Fathers and non-birthing parents expressed a strong need to be formally recognised as stakeholders and recipients of perinatal healthcare services. The BPPs offer a co-designed framework for broader systemic reform and an actionable roadmap for equitable, trauma-informed and culturally responsive care for all parents, emphasising the need for further translational research and the national integration of inclusive perinatal healthcare services.
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BibTeX
@article{kothari2026codesigned,
title = {{Co-Designed Best Practice Principles for the Care of Fathers and Non-Birthing Parents Exposed to Perinatal Trauma: A Participatory Action Research Study.}},
author = {Alka Kothari and Dale Trevor and Glen Quinn and Jane Geltch and Joel Dulhunty and Helen Skouteris and Leonie K Callaway},
journal = {The Medical journal of Australia},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5694/mja2.70316},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894362},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Co-Designed Best Practice Principles for the Care of Fathers and Non-Birthing Parents Exposed to Perinatal Trauma: A Participatory Action Research Study.
AU - Alka Kothari
AU - Dale Trevor
AU - Glen Quinn
AU - Jane Geltch
AU - Joel Dulhunty
AU - Helen Skouteris
AU - Leonie K Callaway
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The Medical journal of Australia
DO - 10.5694/mja2.70316
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894362
AB - Objective To co-design best practice principles (BPPs) for providing compassionate, holistic support to fathers and non-birthing parents exposed to perinatal trauma.Design Participatory action research methodology to generate qualitative data.Setting, participants Face-to-face workshops were conducted across the Greater Brisbane area and online workshops were held for national consultation from 23 April 2024 to 27 May 2025. Fathers and non-birthing parents with lived experience of perinatal trauma and a multidisciplinary team of health and community care professionals were included. Separate consumer (n = 11) and professional (n = 30) reference groups were established to authentically represent lived experience and professional perspectives on caring for birthing families. The co-designed BPPs were subsequently validated in National Workshops with consumers from diverse backgrounds (n = 74).Results The co-design process generated 24 initial themes, which were iteratively consolidated by consensus into four BPPs: (1) compassionate and inclusive engagement; (2) policy and legislative reform; (3) education and learning opportunities; and (4) mental health screening and support for fathers and non-birthing parents. Accompanying practice and policy recommendations for each BPP were developed.Conclusions Fathers, non-birthing parents and healthcare and community care professionals co-designed a suite of BPPs to address gaps in perinatal healthcare following exposure to pregnancy and birth trauma. Fathers and non-birthing parents expressed a strong need to be formally recognised as stakeholders and recipients of perinatal healthcare services. The BPPs offer a co-designed framework for broader systemic reform and an actionable roadmap for equitable, trauma-informed and culturally responsive care for all parents, emphasising the need for further translational research and the national integration of inclusive perinatal healthcare services.
SN - 0025-729X
SN - 1326-5377
ER -