‘Boot Camp For New Dads’ Sets Up Camp At Danbury Hospital

DANBURY –– Each year, approximately 1.5 million men become fathers across America. Questions such as, What will it be like to have a new baby in the house? How will this tiny miracle affect our romance? Our finances? Our day-to-day lifestyle? surely run through the minds of many expectant fathers.

To help new fathers get off to a confident start, Danbury Hospital’s Programs for Parents now provides “Boot Camp for New Dads,” a nonprofit program that is offered at more than 150 hospitals, clinics, schools, and churches in 37 states across the United States. Boot Camp for New Dads is a unique program that brings “rookie” fathers-to-be together with “veteran” recent dads and their newborns.

The Boot Camp for New Dads program at Danbury Hospital consists of two three-hour sessions including a session for “rookies” (expectant dads) to prepare and give them hands on experience, and one where the “veteran” (experienced dad) returns with his newborn to help rookies learn how to change diapers, feed a bottle to, and handle the new baby.

 Danbury Hospital will offer the program one Saturday every month and will conduct the next Boot Camp for New Dads on Saturday, January 25, from 9 am to noon. To register and for more information, call Patricia Murphy, RN, lactation coordinator at Danbury Hospital at 797-7524.

“The challenge is that many expectant fathers have never even held or diapered a baby,” said Ms Murphy, who coordinated the introduction of the program at Danbury Hospital in November. Danbury Hospital is the second hospital in Connecticut to provide Boot Camp for New Dads.

During the session, men discuss issues such as, What do I do once this bundle of joy gets home? How do I juggle long hours at work with my new responsibilities at home? How do I handle parenting criticism from my mother in law? Can I do anything to help my wife with breast feeding? What will this all mean to my social life? and What should I do if I lose it and am about to go beyond the stress point?

Veteran fathers also share their babies with the rookies for hands-on training and demonstrate how to hold, comfort, diaper, swaddle, relieve gas/colic, and play with an infant. Coaches, who are facilitators trained during the November program at Danbury Hospital, keep the three-hour program focused, humorous, and informational.

 “In the past, most dads were limited to the role of breadwinner and disciplinarian. Now we see more and more dads making tough choices about reducing their workload and prioritizing their time to take a more active role in fathering, ” said Greg Bishop, founder of the two-decade-old program. “Involved and enthusiastic dads are prevalent, and families benefit.” Mr Bishop, a father of four, founded Boot Camp for New Dads at Irvine Medical Center in 1990 and has volunteered as head coach ever since.

Research bears out widespread anecdotal evidence of more active fathering. A recent study by the Families and Work Institute reveals that fathers are closing the gap with moms and now put in 75 percent of the time moms spend on child care and household chores, up from 30 percent in 1977. Fathers now spend more time doing things with their children than they spend on themselves, and despite the rise in dual income families, children receive more parental attention due to the change in fathers’ behavior.

Fathers doing their job is good news, Ms Murphy said. According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, a variety of studies clearly demonstrate that children with involved fathers benefit academically, emotionally, and socially. While dads have turned the corner, the fact that 40 percent of children in America will go to bed tonight in a home without their fathers indicates there is still a long road ahead, she said.