Responsible 

Fatherhood 

Spotlight 

March 2008 

Take Time to Be a Dad Today 

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse  101 Lake Forest Boulevard, Suite 360  Gaithersburg, MD 20877  

Toll-free: 1 (877) 4DAD411  Fax: (301) 948-4325  www.fatherhood.gov 

Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions and 

Prenatal Behaviors 

How men feel about a pregnancy and their support for partners during pregnancies have implications for 

their involvement with infants and children.i An understanding of this issue for fathers of infants is 

important because the transition to fatherhood represents an ideal opportunity to draw men more actively 

into parenting.ii

 

Definitions 

• Pregnancy intentions refer to men’s feelings about the pregnancies of their partners or spouses. 

Pregnancies can be classified as intended (planned at the time of conception), mistimed (not 

wanted at the time of conception, but wanted eventually), or unwanted (not wanted either at the 

time of conception or ever in the future). 

• Prenatal behaviors refer to fathers’ activities with partners during pregnancy and activities 

around the time of the birth of a child. Prenatal activities for fathers may include: visiting the 

doctor with their partners for prenatal care, attending childbirth classes, being present at the 

child’s birth, and visiting the baby in the hospital.

o Postbirth Involvement refers to resident fathers’ engagement in a variety of activities 

with their infants and young children. Some research shows that this involvement may 

include: participation in cognitively stimulating activities, physical care, warmth, nurturing 

activities, and caregiving activities.iii

 

Importance of Fathers’ Prenatal Behaviors and Pregnancy Intentions 

Implications for Fathers

• The intendedness of a pregnancy has important implications for fathers, because fathers 

reporting unintended births are often less able to provide positive parenting and regularly report 

being in less stable relationships with the mothers of their children.iv

• Men who report that the births of their children were intended, and men who support their 

partners through prenatal involvement may view themselves as important to their child’s 

development and be more interested in their children’s well-being.v

Implications for Children 

• Unintended fatherhood may adversely affect the quantity and quality of a father’s involvement in a 

child’s life.vi

• Children resulting from unwanted pregnancies may face reduced parental support, poorer quality 

parent-child relationships, more authoritarian parenting styles, and parental rejection.vii,viii,ix.

• Children born to fathers who report that they wanted their partners to conceive sooner than they 

did tend to experience more nurturing from their fathers. Alternately, children born to fathers who 

report that the birth came too soon tend to experience less nurturing from fathers.x

• Fathers’ prenatal intentions are related to the levels of warmth and nurturing that they provide to 

their infants.xi
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Implications for Fathers’ Partners 

• When fathers are highly involved with the care and nurturing of children, partners regularly report 

sharing more stable and happier relationships.xii

• Fathers’ pregnancy intentions are related to their chances of sharing post-birth parenting 

responsibilities with mothers.xiii 

Overall Pregnancy Intentions for Fathers 

Figure 1 indicates that one in four resident fathers did not want the pregnancy of their most recent child. 

Figure 1. Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions (2001) 

25.2%

9.9%

18.6%

46.3%

Father did not want

pregnancy

Father wanted

pregnancy sooner

Father wanted

pregnancy later

Pregnancy occurred

about the right time

Source: Child Trends Analyses of ECLS-B, 9-Month Father Survey (Bronte-Tinkew et al., 2007) 

Differences in Fathers’ Pregnancy Intentions by Subgroup 

Differences by Father’s Age. 

Table 1 shows that teen fathers were most likely to report not wanting the pregnancy and least likely to 

report that the pregnancy occurred at the right time. Younger fathers (< 24 years) were more likely to 

report having wanted the pregnancy later (32 percent) than were fathers aged 25-34 and 35 and older (19 

percent and 13 percent, respectively). 

Table 1. Pregnancy Intentions by Age of Father 

Father’s Pregnancy Intentions (Percent) 

Age 

Did not 

want 

pregnancy 

Wanted 

pregnancy 

sooner 

Wanted 

pregnancy 

later 

Pregnancy 

occurred 

at the right 

time 

Less than 

20 38 5 32 25 

20-24 27 5 32 36 

25-34 22 9 19 51 

35+ 29 14 13 45 

Source: Child Trends Analyses of ECLS-B, 9-Month Father Survey (Bronte-Tinkew et al., 2007) 
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Differences by Father’s Race. 

Table 2 shows that non-Hispanic black fathers and fathers of other ethnicities were most likely to report 

not wanting the pregnancy. Non-Hispanic black fathers and fathers of other ethnicities were less likely to 

report that the pregnancy occurred at the right time (36 percent and 43 percent, respectively).NonHispanic black fathers were the most likely across racial and ethnic subgroups to report wanting the 

pregnancy to occur later (22 percent). 

Table 2. Pregnancy Intentions by Race of Father 

Father’s Pregnancy Intentions (Percent) 

Age 

Did not 

want 

pregnancy 

Wanted 

pregnancy 

sooner 

Wanted 

pregnancy 

later 

Pregnancy 

occurred 

at the right 

time 

Hispanic 26 7 20 47 

White 20 11 19 50 

Black 34 8 22 36 

Other 34 9 14 43 

Source: Child Trends Analyses of ECLS-B, 9-Month Father Survey (Bronte-Tinkew et al., 2007) 

Differences in Fathers’ Prenatal Involvement by Subgroup 

Differences by Father’s Age. 

Table 3 shows that teen fathers and fathers over age 35 were slightly less like to demonstrate certain 

prenatal behaviors. Teen fathers were less likely to discuss the pregnancy with their child’s mother (88 

percent), see an ultrasound (93 percent), and attend a childbirth class (28 percent), than were older 

fathers. Older fathers were slightly less likely to report that they listened to the baby’s heartbeat (91 

percent), felt the baby move (96 percent), and bought things for the baby (85 percent) than were fathers 

in their twenties and early thirties. 

Table 3. Prenatal Involvement by Age of Father 

Father’s Age 

Prenatal 

Behaviors 

Less 

than 20 20-24 25-34 35+ 

Discussed 

pregnancy 

88 90 93 93 

Saw ultrasound 93 96 96 95 

Listened to 

baby’s heartbeat 93 96 94 91 

Felt baby move 98 97 97 96 

Attended 

childbirth classes 28 34 44 42 

Bought things for 

baby 95 96 92 85 

Source: Child Trends Analyses of ECLS-B, 9-Month Father Survey (Bronte-Tinkew et al., 2007) 

Differences by Father’s Race. 

Table 4 shows that among resident fathers, Hispanic fathers were slightly less likely to report certain 

types of prenatal involvement than were fathers of other races/ethnicities. Hispanic fathers were the least 

likely among fathers to report that they discussed the pregnancy with the mother (76 percent), saw an 

ultrasound (90 percent), listened to the baby’s heartbeat (89 percent), and attended a childbirth class with 

the mother (32 percent). 
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Table 4. Prenatal Involvement by Race of Father 

Father’s Age 

Prenatal 

Behaviors Hispanic White Black Other 

Discussed 

pregnancy 

76 97 94 94 

Saw ultrasound 90 98 95 95 

Listened to 

baby’s heartbeat 89 95 91 94 

Felt baby move 97 98 97 97 

Attended 

childbirth classes 32 45 33 45 

Bought things for 

baby 94 90 89 91 

Source: Child Trends Analyses of ECLS-B, 9-Month Father Survey (Bronte-Tinkew et al., 2007) 

Definitions and Measurement 

Resident fathers in these analyses consisted of males living with children’s mothers at the conclusion of 

the 9-month Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) data collection. These fathers or 

father figures included stepfathers, adoptive fathers, and foster fathers, although 89 percent of 

responding fathers were children’s biological fathers. 

Data Sources 

All data on fathers’ pregnancy intentions, prenatal behaviors, and postbirth involvement are drawn from 

the 2001 ECLS-B, 9-month Resident Father Survey. The ECLS-B tracks a nationally representative 

sample of children from infancy to first grade. The full sample consists of more than 10,000 children born 

in 2001, and the primary methods of data collection are interviews and direct child assessments that 

occur during home visits at nine, 24, and 48 months after birth. The sample for these analyses includes 

6,816 biological resident fathers who completed a 10-minute self-administered survey in the nine-month 

wave of the study. 

Data Limitations 

It should be noted that fathers represented in these analyses are reflective only of resident, and in large 

part biological, fathers. Second, children of fathers represented in these analyses are very young, and 

past research has indicated that resident fathers tend to increase their involvement with children as they 

age, so these analyses may not be representative of father involvement throughout early childhood.xiv

Finally, fathers in these analyses may overrepresent involved fathers and fathers who have positive 

relationships with the mother of the focal child. 

Resources 

• The National Fatherhood Initiative provides information to fathers and educators about 

increasing fathers’ involvement in the lives of their children. Access the organization’s Web site 

at: www.fatherhood.org

• The Child Welfare Information Gateway (formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse 

and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare 

Information Gateway) provides access to information and resources to help protect children and 

strengthen families. This resource is a service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for 

Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and can be accessed at: 

http://www.childwelfare.gov/
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References

 

i

 Brown, S., & Eisenberg, L. (Eds.). (1995). The best intentions: Unintended pregnancy and the well-being of children and families. 

Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 

ii Woodsworth, S., Belsky, J., & Crnic, K. (1996). The determinants of fathering during the child’s second and third years of life: A 

developmental analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 679-692. iii Bronte-Tinkew, J., Carrano, J., Horowitz, A., & Kinakawa, A. (2007). Involvement among resident fathers and links to infant 

cognitive outcomes Journal of Family Issues (In Press). iv Bronte-Tinkew, J., Horowitz, A., Kennedy, E., & Perper, K. (2007). Men’s pregnancy intentions and prenatal behaviors: What they 

mean for fathers’ involvement with their children (Research Brief). Washington, DC: Child Trends. v Mann, T. L. (1995). Transition to fatherhood: A study of first-time African American fathers. Dissertation Abstracts International, 

56(3-B), 1721 

vi Brown, S., & Eisenberg, L. (Eds.). (1995). The best intentions: Unintended pregnancy and the well-being of children and families. 

Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. 

vii Amato, P. R. (1986). Father involvement and the self-esteem of children and adolescents. Australian Journal of Sex, Marriage & 

Family, 7, 6-16. viii Baydar, N. (1995). Consequences for children of their birth planning status. Family Planning Perspectives, 27, 228-235. ix Demo, D. H., Small, S., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (1987). Family relations and the self-esteem of adolescents and their parents.

Journal of Marriage & the Family, 49, 705-715. x

 Bronte-Tinkew, J., Carrano, J., Horowitz, A., & Kinakawa, A. (2007). Involvement among resident fathers and links to infant 

cognitive outcomes Journal of Family Issues, (In Press). xi Bronte-Tinkew, J., Horowitz, A., Kennedy, E., & Perper, K. (2007). Men’s pregnancy intentions and prenatal behaviors: What they 

mean for fathers’ involvement with their children (Research Brief). Washington, DC: Child Trends. xii Coiro, M. J., & Emery, R. E. (1998). Do marriage problems affect fathering more than mothering? A quantitative and qualitative

review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1(1), 23-40. xiii Bronte-Tinkew, J., Horowitz, A., Kennedy, E., & Perper, K. (2007). Men’s pregnancy intentions and prenatal behaviors: What they 

mean for fathers’ involvement with their children (Research Brief). Washington, DC: Child Trends. xiv Lamb, M. E. (1987). Introduction: The emergent American father. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), The father's role: Cross-cultural 

perspectives (pp. 3-25). New York: John Wiley and Sons.