As a Dad with a baby in neonatal care, you may not know where to go for help and support. It is ok to: 

• Feel your emotions – to feel sad, scared, overwhelmed, happy…
• Be uncertain or upset about going home without your baby 
• Feel torn between supporting mum and being there for baby in the neonatal unit or with siblings 
• Feel a loss of control 
• Struggle trying to keep up with normal routines
• Accept help from family and friends

Some families may have a baby spending time in a Hospital hours away from home, so it’s not uncommon for families to be separated for weeks or sometimes months at a time. 

Miracle Babies Foundation can help to support Dads going through the early days (and beyond) in the neonatal unit by providing peer emotional support that helps them to work through the emotions and the unique challenges they face. As a parent-led organisation, built on lived experience, Miracle Babies Foundation Support Workers are all parents themselves. There are Dads within our network that can also help to be there for new Fathers who are going through the journey now. Connection with other neonatal Dads can make a big difference.

The national NurtureLine is available 24/7 on 1300 622 243. This support helps Dads to value the small wins, to develop coping strategies, to find information, process emotions, to ask the right questions, be involved in the care of their baby in the neonatal unit and to navigate the challenges they face. This support continues to be available well beyond discharge, with access for a lifetime.  

Miracle Babies Foundation also provides face to face peer support for families inside the neonatal unit in partnering hospitals, resources for information and to guide you through every step of the journey, an online Information Hub and after-discharge specialised play and support groups within the community. 

BACK TO JUST FOR DADS