Page 12 - elevatespring2020

ELEVATE YOUR YOU’VE

12 navicenthealth.org | SPRING 2020 DADGOT THIS,

When it comes to father-baby
bonding, staying engaged is key.

IF YOU ARE a new dad, you may feel somewhat
disconnected from the intimate connection that
already seems to exist between mother and baby. But
rest assured, you are an important part of your new
baby’s life.

“The time after your baby is born is an adjustment for
everyone, including dads, who may feel like they have
lost their partner for a little while,” says Missi Upshaw,
MBA, Pediatric and Women’s Service Line Director for
Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, Navicent
Health. “But men must remember what a critical role
they play during this time.”

Specifically, new moms rely on dads for emotional
support as well as help with baby care and the regular
household chores. By providing this type of assistance,
you are getting closer to your baby whether you realize
it or not.

“When the family is engaged with one another,
the baby benefits as well as the father,” says
Mitch Rodriguez, MD, neonatologist and Business
Development Director at Beverly Knight Olson
Children’s Hospital, Navicent Health. “This
connectedness can help circumvent the postpartum
depression [PPD] that we sometimes see in new fathers.”