Co-Designed Best Practice Principles for the Care of Fathers and Non-Birthing Parents Exposed to Perinatal Trauma: A Participatory Action Research Study.

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.