Fathers' involvement and the impact on family mental health: evidence from Millennium Cohort Study analyses

This paper reports evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) on the relationship between fathers' involvement and the mental well-being of mothers, fathers and children. Drawing on previous research, we use a tripartite definition of father involvement: engagement, accessibility and responsibility. After searching 14 databases and websites, we screened for applicability, coded, quality assessed and synthesised the evidence. The majority of studies focused on ‘accessibility’ in terms of family structure or on ‘responsibility’ in terms of father employment. Overall, the studies suggest that aspects of fathers' involvement can positively influence both maternal and child mental well-being; fathers' mental health was only analysed in relation to one aspect of involvement: parental or father employment was found to influence fathers' mental well-being positively. Further MCS-based research is recommended to examine the impact of fathers' involvement on their own mental well-being, as well as the broader impact of a more active or ‘modern’ fatherhood model encompassing engagement and an understanding of responsibility beyond the breadwinning role.     

How valid are the common concerns raised against water birth? A focused review of the literature

BackgroundWomen have birthed in water for many years, with researchers finding a number of benefits for mother and baby. Despite these benefits, many health institutions and clinicians are hesitant to support women's access to water immersion in birth for a number of reasons. As such, this paper aimed to (1) select five common concerns raised against water birth and (2) examine whether research supports these concerns as being evidence-based.MethodA literature review was conducted to (1) select the concerns for review and to (2) review each selected concern as to whether they were supported by the current evidence. A recent review of women's access to, and uptake of, water immersion in Queensland, Australia, was also used to determine the concerns for review in order to better capture concerns relevant to Australian practice.FindingsThree clinical concerns were selected for review: water aspiration, neonatal and maternal infection, and neonatal and maternal thermo-regulation; and two concerns around the practice of water birth were selected: skills and education of workforce, and emergency procedures in case of maternal collapse. The three clinical concerns were not found to be supported by the available evidence and the two practice concerns can be addressed by appropriate policy, guidelines and practice.ConclusionThe reviewed common concerns against water birth are not evidence-based nor are they sufficient to prevent women from accessing the use of water in labour and birth. Health institutions and clinicians should ensure they take adequate precautions to enable women access to this valued and effective method of birth.     

A Comparative Exposure Assessment of Campylobacter in Ontario,Canada

To inform source attribution efforts, a comparative exposure assessment was developed to estimate the relative exposure to Campylobacter, the leading bacterial gastrointestinal disease in Canada, for 13 different transmission routes within Ontario, Canada, during the summer. Exposure was quantified with stochastic models at the population level, which incorporated measures of frequency, quantity ingested, prevalence, and concentration, using data from FoodNet Canada surveillance, the peer‐reviewed and gray literature, other Ontario data, and data that were specifically collected for this study. Models were run with @Risk software using Monte Carlo simulations. The mean number of cells of Campylobacter ingested per Ontarian per day during the summer, ranked from highest to lowest is as follows: household pets, chicken, living on a farm, raw milk, visiting a farm, recreational water, beef, drinking water, pork, vegetables, seafood, petting zoos, and fruits. The study results identify knowledge gaps for some transmission routes, and indicate that some transmission routes for Campylobacter are underestimated in the current literature, such as household pets and raw milk. Many data gaps were identified for future data collection consideration, especially for the concentration of Campylobacter in all transmission routes.     

Improving breastfeeding rates in an “at risk” population

A new public health frontier challenging maternity care is addressing the sub-optimal breastfeeding rates of women who are obese. Despite the World Health Organisation's recommendation that breastfeeding is initiated within the first hour of birth and continued exclusively for six months, less than half of infants and young children globally are optimally breastfed. While initiation rates of exclusive breastfeeding immediately after birth are as high as 90 percent in Australia, this rate dramatically declines in the first few weeks postpartum, with only approximately 15 percent of infants exclusively breastfed to five months of age (less than 6 months). The aim of this paper was to highlight difficulties obese women have breastfeeding and highlight implications for research and practice.     

Female Crime Fighters in Television and Film: Implications and Future Directions

This article examines the literature surrounding images of the female crime fighter in fictionalized television and film. The continued growth of the crime drama, alongside stagnant growth of women in law enforcement, necessitates a closer look at this genre. Current media images serve to reinforce women's roles as either support for male crime fighters and/or as highly sexualized members of the force. Work in this area demonstrates a large‐scale reinforcement of constructed gender norms that may impact how the women are treated on the job as well as their overall retention and recruitment in law enforcement. More scholarly focus on the media representations and related impacts is called for.     

Residential care for children and young people: priority areas for change

Abuse in residential childcare has been of concern to the public and the profession for a number of years. This article highlights a Scottish Institute for Residential Child Care's (SIRCC) response to the Scottish Government which was requested following allegations of abuse in Glasgow City Council's Kerelaw residential school and secure unit. It offers priority actions to address the challenges of residential childcare and ensure the safety of children and young people as far as is practicably possible. It contextualises the residential childcare task, and explores four interrelated areas in which change is strongly recommended: (1) organisations' cultures; (2) workforce challenges including the status of the sector, staff selection standards, the role of residential childcare workers in relation to their level of autonomy and their education levels; (3) abuse allegations, in particular the sector's growing fearfulness of false allegations, support for practitioners' anonymity when accused of abuse and a reconsideration of criminal record certificate information; and (4) service delivery related to behaviour management and advocacy support. The intersection between the SIRCC and the subsequent Kerelaw Inquiry reports is outlined. Finally, it concludes with a scan of the immediate strategic policy horizon which indicates an unprecedented momentum for change. While based in the Scottish context, it reflects lessons which are applicable internationally. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Complex families and equality in child support obligations: A comparative policy analysis

Family complexity creates difficulties for child support policy. We examine whether policy in 14 countries results in nonresident parents having equal financial obligations to children in different complex family situations. We find that when a nonresident parent owes support to two nonresident children in different families, the most common policy is to have unequal obligations favoring the older child. However, nearly as many countries achieve equal orders, but do so by reducing the obligation to the older child. When a nonresident parent has one nonresident child and a new resident child, the most common strategy is to reduce the obligation to the older nonresident child, but to make no attempt to equalize obligations for both children. Each of the four main policy strategies we identify has advantages; tradeoffs among three principles of equality, affordability of obligations and protecting the first child's standard of living are discussed.     

Marriage‐Market Constraints and Mate‐Selection Behavior: Racial,Ethnic, and Gender Differences in Intermarriage

Despite theoretical consensus that marriage markets constrain mate‐selection behavior, few studies directly evaluate how local marriage‐market conditions influence intermarriage patterns. Using data from the American Community Survey, the authors examine what aspects of marriage markets influence mate selection, assess whether the associations between marriage‐market conditions and intermarriage are uniform by gender and across pan‐ethnic groups, and investigate the extent to which marriage‐market conditions account for group differences in intermarriage patterns. Relative group size is the most salient and consistent determinant of intermarriage patterns across pan‐ethnic groups and by gender. Marriage‐market constraints typically explain a larger share of pan‐ethnic differences in intermarriage rates than individual traits, suggesting that scarcity of co‐ethnic partners is a key reason behind decisions to intermarry. When faced with market constraints, men are more willing or more successful than women in crossing racial and ethnic boundaries in marriage.