BOSTON — June 11, 2024 — A groundbreaking effort to include fathers in maternal and child health data recently took center stage on NPR’s Here & Now. The segment featured Dr. Craig Garfield, a Burke Foundation grantee and pediatrician at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, discussing the innovative PRAMS for Dads initiative — a program designed to improve health outcomes by capturing fathers’ experiences and perspectives around childbirth and early parenting.
Traditionally, public health data systems have focused almost exclusively on mothers, leaving fathers’ roles and needs largely invisible. PRAMS for Dads (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) seeks to change that by systematically collecting information from fathers during the perinatal period. The result: richer data that can inform more inclusive policies, strengthen family support services, and improve health outcomes for parents and children alike.
“Fathers play a crucial role in their children’s development from the very beginning,” Garfield noted in the interview. “By listening to their voices and understanding their challenges, we can design programs that better support the whole family.”
The initiative reflects the Burke Foundation’s broader commitment to advancing family-centered care and early relational health — ensuring that public systems recognize and respond to the realities of all caregivers. As states explore ways to expand PRAMS for Dads nationwide, advocates hope the program will lead to more equitable policies and stronger outcomes for families across the country.