Read the event report for Dr Elena Dimova's webinar: "Exploring men’s alcohol consumption in the context of becoming a father: A scoping review".

There is evidence that parenthood may be a teachable moment for the adoption of health behaviours, although fathers have been under-represented in research. Dr Dimova and colleagues at Glasgow Caledonian University’s Substance Use research group undertook a scoping review, funded by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), to synthesise available evidence to explore how men ‘experience’ alcohol consumption in the context of fatherhood, key characteristics of existing interventions to help fathers reduce or stop drinking, and how best to engage fathers.

Overall, the limited evidence available suggests that pregnancy is a good time to engage with new and expectant fathers, although there is a lack of father-friendly interventions. The experiences of fathers have also largely been neglected in alcohol research to date. There should be recognition that the transition to fatherhood may lead to unhealthy behaviours, including alcohol consumption, but this period provides a teachable moment. We discussed the need for more qualitative research with diverse subgroups of fathers and more research on appropriate father-friendly interventions. Efforts should be made to ensure that antenatal settings are father-inclusive.