Fathers and Babies (FAB)

Fathers and Babies (FAB) is a stress management intervention designed to support fathers. It was pilot tested from 2018 to 2020 with funding from the National Institute on Minority Heath Disparities (NIMHD) and the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation. The pilot study demonstrated FAB’s effectiveness in reducing paternal depressive symptoms and perceived stress. FAB can be delivered alongside the Mothers and Babies (MB) program, or as a standalone intervention. The primary goals of FAB are to provide skills to support fathers’ stress management and to provide skills to help parents with partners support each other’s mental health as they parent together. This nine-session intervention emphasizes child development, healthy attachment between fathers and babies, and can be delivered in person, virtually, by phone via text, or as a combination of options. In 2024-2026, we will be conducting a quasi-experimental study with multiple state home visiting networks to examine implementation and effectiveness of FAB.

Principal and Co-Investigators

Darius Tandon, PhD, Craig E. Garfield, MD

Contact Information

For more information or questions about our study, please feel free to reach out to our Director of Research Operations: Alicia Diebold, MSW.

Publications

• Tandon, S. D., Hamil, J., Gier, E. E., & Garfield, C. F. (2021). Examining the Effectiveness of the Fathers and Babies Intervention: A Pilot Study. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 668284. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.668284
• Hamil, J., Gier, E., Garfield, C. F., & Tandon, D. (2021). The Development and Pilot of a Technology-Based Intervention in the United States for Father’s Mental Health in the Perinatal Period. American journal of men’s health, 15(5), 15579883211044306. https://doi.org/10.1177/15579883211044306