top of page
Search

Essential Resources for New Dads in Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Early Fatherhood

  • Writer: matthewbramanlcsw
    matthewbramanlcsw
  • 2 days ago
  • 20 min read

Becoming a father brings a whirlwind of emotions and challenges. For new dads, the excitement of welcoming a child often mixes with uncertainty about how to support their partner, care for the baby, and adjust to a new family dynamic. For grieving fathers, the journey can be even more complex, as they navigate loss alongside the expectations of fatherhood. Many therapists and mothers seek resources to help fathers understand pregnancy and postpartum life, support their partners, and take care of themselves. This blog dives deep for essential resources to guide new dads and grieving fathers through early fatherhood with confidence and compassion.


Eye-level view of a father holding a newborn baby wrapped in a soft blanket
A father gently cradling his newborn baby, symbolizing early fatherhood support

Understanding the Role of New Dads in Early Fatherhood


New fathers often carry pressures to be strong and supportive while silently managing (or not managing so well) their own feelings and uncertainties. Understanding the emotional and practical aspects of early fatherhood helps dads engage more fully with their families.


  • Emotional support for partners: Pregnancy and postpartum periods bring hormonal and emotional changes for mothers. Fathers who learn about these changes can offer empathy and patience.

  • Self-care for dads: Fathers need to prioritize their mental and physical health to be effective caregivers and partners.

  • Bonding with the baby: Early interactions like touching the baby bump to feel kicks, holding the baby once they're born for skin-to-skin contact, talking to and singing to the baby during their wake windows, and helping facilitate playful tummy time for the baby can help fathers build stronger bonds with their newborns.


Resources such as books, online courses, podcasts, and support groups can provide fathers with knowledge and community. For example, The New Father: A Dad’s Guide to the First Year by Armin Brott offers practical advice on what to expect and how to be involved.


What Kinds of Support Do New Dads Need Most?


New dads and grieving fathers benefit most from emotional support, practical parenting guidance, relationship support, and access to mental health resources. Support groups, educational materials, and individual therapy or postpartum couples therapy can help fathers adjust to early fatherhood and postpartum changes or perinatal loss.


  • Trying to understand pregnancy & postpartum? Start with books and educational guides.

  • Feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure? Explore podcasts and peer communities.

  • Want to better support your partner? Focus on relationship and birth prep resources.

  • Struggling emotionally or mentally? Look into therapy and mental health support.

  • Grieving a loss? Seek specialized grief resources and bereaved-parent support groups.


What Kinds of Resources for New Dads Help Them in Supporting Mothers During Pregnancy and Postpartum?


Many fathers want to support their partners but feel unsure how. Resources that explain pregnancy and postpartum experiences from the mother’s perspective can bridge this gap.


  • Educational Websites: Sites like Postpartum Support International provide information on postpartum depression and anxiety, helping fathers recognize signs and offer support. Check out and download these Education Materials and these Discussion Tools from PSI.

  • Workshops and Classes: Prenatal and postpartum classes that include non-birthing partners teach skills like infant care, self-care, and communication strategies.

  • Books and Podcasts: Reading materials focused on maternal mental health help fathers understand the emotional rollercoaster their partners may experience.

  • Individual Therapy: Paternal perinatal mental health specialists help fathers find their calm, cope with adjustment stress, and show up with greater courage and confidence in their emotional and relational lives in the perinatal period.


Encouraging fathers to participate in medical appointments through pregnancy and postpartum fosters a greater sense of teamwork and shared responsibility. If you're finding this transition more overwhelming than expected, working with a therapist who specializes in early fatherhood can make a meaningful difference. Learn more about therapy for new dads here.


What are the Best Resources for Grieving Fathers Enduring Loss?


Grieving fathers often feel isolated, as much of the focus tends to be on mothers. Specialized resources can help fathers process grief and find support.


Grieving fathers benefit from spaces where they can express emotions openly and receive meaningful support with guidance on how to cope, not for moving on, but for moving forward. If you're finding this transition more overwhelming than expected, working with a therapist who specializes in perinatal loss can make a meaningful difference. Learn more about therapy for grieving fathers here.


Practical Tools for New Dads to Manage Early Fatherhood


Beyond emotional support, practical tools help fathers navigate their typical, daily challenges.


  • Parenting Apps: Apps like Wonder Weeks track baby development and suggest activities to support growth.

  • Checklists and Routine Schedules: Printable guides for feeding, sleeping, and diaper changes help fathers stay organized.

  • Communication Tips: Resources and therapeutic supports that teach active listening and conflict management skills improve relationships with partners.

  • Noise Cancelling Earplugs: Consider using something like Loop Earplugs to help minimize the excruciating crying and screaming newborns are known for postpartum.


These tools reduce stress and build confidence in fathers as they adjust to new routines and relationship dynamics. If you're finding this transition more overwhelming than expected, working with a therapist who specializes in postpartum relationships can make a meaningful difference. Learn more about postpartum couples therapy here.


How Can Therapists for New Moms Support Fathers?


Therapists working with mothers often want to include fathers in the postpartum journey. Sharing curated resources helps fathers feel involved and informed.


  • Resource Lists: Providing fathers with educational and supportive books, podcasts, articles, blogs, websites, and support groups tailored to their needs.

  • Collateral Sessions: Inviting fathers to therapy sessions as a collateral participant to discuss their experiences and concerns.

  • Making Appropriate Referrals: Connecting fathers to their own individual therapy and supportive groups & communities to address their mental health.


By equipping fathers with trust-worthy knowledge and support, therapists strengthen the entire family system. Taking a whole family approach increases the likelihood that both mom and baby can get the support they need.


Why Should We Encourage Fathers to Prioritize Their Well-being?


Fathers sometimes neglect their own needs while focusing on their partners and babies. Resources that emphasize parental self-care, birthing and non-birthing partners included, encourage healthier families.


  • Mental Health Screenings: Tools to help fathers recognize signs of depression or anxiety.

  • Stress Management Techniques: Mindfulness exercises, physical activity, and hobbies.

  • Peer Support: Connecting with other fathers through supportive groups and communities, whether it be online or in-person.


When fathers take care of themselves, they can better support their families.


Top 10 Things New Dads Should Know


  1. You don’t have to have all the answers, and you're not alone.

  2. Your mental health matters too.

  3. Pregnancy and Postpartum affects fathers as well.

  4. Your partner needs emotional support more than solutions.

  5. Bonding (and grieving) takes time, and that’s okay.

  6. Sleep deprivation impacts everything.

  7. Asking for help is a strength.

  8. You and your partner may adjust (and grieve) differently.

  9. Routine builds confidence.

  10. You are learning and living in real time, and that’s enough.


Many of the fathers I work with are high-performing professionals who are used to handling pressure, but early fatherhood introduces a different kind of challenge: one that can’t be fixed or solved through productivity alone. I'm sharing an abundance of resources for new dads and grieving fathers below to help give them some of the information and support they need.


If you're feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure how to navigate this stage, join the club! Support designed specifically for fathers can help you feel more grounded and confident.


Books for Men In Early Fatherhood - Yes, Men Read.


These books provide strong foundations for understanding some of the intersections between pregnancy, postpartum, mental health, fatherhood, parenting, marriage, and relationships. Many of these books are intended for a male audience while some of them are intended for women and focus on motherhood. Don't let that stop you from trying to understand more about your partner, matrescence and the maternal brain, and what it means to explore the miles-long journey into parenthood.


FAMILY PLANNING / FERTILITY CHALLENGES


EXPECTING FATHERS / NEW DADS / PARENTAL MENTAL HEALTH


PREGNANCY / BIRTHING PREP / LABOR AND DELIVERY / INFANT CARE


NICU JOURNEY / PERINATAL LOSS


UNDERSTANDING PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH / POSTPARTUM


THE MENTAL LOAD


COUPLES / MARRIAGE / RELATIONSHIPS


PSYCHOLOGY OF MEN AND MASCULINITIES / SELF HELP


PARENTAL PRESENCE / BUILDING SECURE ATTACHMENT BONDS


Why these books matter: Many men benefit from structured, practical guidance. These books reduce uncertainty and build confidence by connecting with gender-specific supports for learning and understanding unchartered territory.


Podcasts for Men in Early Fatherhood


These podcasts provide strong foundations for understanding some of the intersections between pregnancy, postpartum, mental health, fatherhood, parenting, marriage, and relationships. Many of these podcasts are intended for a male audience while some of them are intended for women and focus specifically on motherhood. Don't let that stop you from trying to understand more about your partner, matrescence and the maternal brain, and what it means to explore the miles-long journey into parenthood.


THE PEDS DOC TALK PODCAST


MOMMY BRAIN REVISITED: A PODCAST ON PARENTING AND THE BRAIN


THE MATURE MALE PODCAST


MOM & MIND PODCAST


THE DOCTOR MOM PODCAST


THE MILES PODCAST: MEN, INFERTILITY, AND LIFE EXPERIENCES


PODCASTS TO HELP A VARIETY OF DADS UNDERSTAND MORE ON WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW


Why these podcasts matter: Many men benefit from structured, practical guidance. These podcasts reduce uncertainty and build confidence by connecting with gender-specific supports for learning and understanding unchartered territory.


THERAPY DIRECTORIES, SUPPORT GROUPS, AND SPACES FOR NEW DADS



Why these directories, support groups, and spaces matter: Many men benefit from structured, practical guidance. These resources reduce uncertainty and build confidence by connecting with gender-specific supports for learning and understanding unchartered territory.


ATTN: WOMEN - A FEW NOTES ON SHARING THE MENTAL LOAD


In this blog post, I have included a range of resources that I often share as needed with the clients who I'm working with in my practice. I understand that many therapists for moms and new motherhood, in addition to moms and new mothers themselves, may have some reservations about going out of their way to share resources with the new dads in their lives.


They may say something like, "He should do the work himself", or, "Can't he just Google it and find his own resources?". They may take the position that they expect new dads to demonstrate their own internal motivation and capacity to "do the work", and this is totally valid.


Women may fear that by sharing any resources with new dads, then "it will only get worse" when baby arrives and requires 24/7/365 support. They are fed up with the men in their lives saying, "Just tell me what to do", when it would rightfully be so nice to finally see men taking more initiative to learn, perform, and provide actual support in sharing the emotional, mental, physical, and relational load of managing their family, a household, and life in general.


Here's my take. These resources won't utilize themselves. Sharing supportive resources with new dads, by itself, does not mean that you are the one reading the book, listening to the podcast, attending the support group, or doing the individual work in the therapy room for them.


What it does mean, though, is that you are helping direct new dads' attention to credible and trustworthy sources of information and support. It doesn't create dependency issues instead of reinforcing new dads' capabilities as a grown up adult. Yes, I get it, you're tired. You carry a lot. The mental load is real, and you deserve acknowledgment, a break, support, validation, and so much more to make things easier, more equitable and fair, and more respectful for all you do.


You're leading them to water by sharing these kinds of resources with the new dads in your life, and they have to be the ones who drink. And, guess what? I'll bet that you probably want men to know about the supportive resources listed in this blog post. I'll bet that they will benefit, and by extension, you will too. If we don't "show up" to support our boys and men, many bad actors will. Seriously, we know that manosphere red-pill content is out there in abundance, and it's harmful.


Equimundo's 2026 report, "The State of The World's Fathers", provides a call to action for decision-makers to better support the world's parents, making sustainable, equitable, and transformative changes so that all children, parents, and carers can flourish.


According to Pew Research Center, millennial dads are significantly more hands-on and emotionally present, spending about triple the time on childcare and household tasks compared to Boomer fathers. Factoring fathers into perinatal care and taking a whole family approach is not a zero sum game, and it does not take away the need to support moms through motherhood.


Yes, it may cost you a bit of time and energy to share these resources with a new dad, and it is an investment worth making. I hope it gives you a solid return on that investment. I truly hope it helps. Please be invited to send me a message, share feedback, and let me know if there are any kinds of supportive resources out there that you believe should be added to this list.


ATTN: MEN - A FEW NOTES ON SHARING THE MENTAL LOAD


1 in 5 Moms and 1 in 10 Dads suffer from postpartum depression. Globally, infertility affects approximately 1 in 6 people during their reproductive years. NICU Dads experience depression at nearly 2x the rate of the general father population. Parents of babies who spend time in the NICU are 73.5% more likely to experience a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder.


Approximately 10-15% of clinically recognized pregnancies end in miscarriage. Black families are 2x more likely to experience stillbirth than other families. Approximately 2.6 million babies are stillborn worldwide each year. Recurrent pregnancy loss affects approximately 1-5% of couples and often significantly strains emotional well-being, relationships, and quality of life.


Paternal perinatal mental health, including perinatal mood and anxiety disorders like postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, postpartum OCD, and postpartum PTSD, refers to the quality of mental health, the presence or absence of symptoms experienced by fathers during pregnancy or within the first year after birth.

When a family expects a baby, it impacts both partners, and how they support each other matters. When one partner struggles, the other partner is likely to struggle as well. Naturally, when new dads do more in taking better care of themselves, sharing the mental load, and showing up for their loved ones emotionally, everyone has a better chance to thrive.


Signs a New Dad May Need Support:

  • irritability

  • emotional withdrawal

  • anxiety

  • sleep disruption

  • hopelessness

  • relationship conflict


We need to take a whole family approach to perinatal care. We need new dads to know that they are not alone and that specialized support is available. We need to take care of ourselves so that we can help take care of our family, even if it's not exactly what you expected it to be like.


Don't shut down a conversation because you feel discomfort. Instead, lean into it, learn from it, and always be curious, but never be complacent. Emotions are really good messengers, but poor masters. You have to name it to tame it and you need to feel it to heal it.


You may have to dig deep. You may need to find the will to change. You may need to find the energy to regulate your nervous system. Your energy is contagious, so find your wise mind to strike a balance between your logical, reasonable mind and your emotional mind. When you find your calm, then you can strike the balance between your family, marriage, career, and self-care.


First step's first. One foot in front of the other. The first step is often the hardest, they say.


The high volume of these supportive resources may overwhelm you. That's OK if you embrace it. Once you start moving forward, then you can slow things down. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. You can get to where you need to go more quickly when you slow down and be intentional.


Check things off the list, one step at a time, and one day at a time. Always forward.


At Verve Psychotherapy, we offer specialized support for men in early fatherhood and postpartum couples. We have advanced training in paternal perinatal mental health, perinatal loss, and evidenced-based practices for trauma-informed care.


We provide individual therapy for new dads, grieving fathers, NICU dads, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, dads with fertility challenges, expecting dads, sober-curious dads, and executive dads. Additionally, we provide emotionally focused couples therapy, gottman method couples therapy, and relational life therapy for postpartum couples.


We offer free Becoming Dad Workshops and we will soon be offering peer support groups like our New Dad's Club and our Unexpecting Dads Chat. Our services are virtual only and available in five American states including Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.


Matthew Braman, LCSW, LCSW-C, PMH-C - A Perinatal Mental Health Specialist for Men in Early Fatherhood and Postpartum Couples
Matthew Braman, LCSW, LCSW-C, PMH-C

As your Right Hand Therapy Man, it's my mission to empower your verve.



Ready to get started? Book an intake appointment here. 

bottom of page