II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4522 

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a 

public awareness campaign to increase awareness of the importance of 

father inclusion and engagement in improving overall health outcomes 

during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 12, 2024 

Mr. WARNOCK (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to carry out a public awareness campaign to increase 

awareness of the importance of father inclusion and engagement in improving overall health outcomes during 

pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dads Matter Act of 

5 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Father engagement can play an important 

4 role in improving maternal health care, addressing 

5 maternal mortality and morbidity, and bettering the 

6 development and long-term growth of the child. 

7 (2) The participation of fathers during prenatal 

8 care appointments provides the mother with addi9 tional support to recognize potential pregnancy-re10 lated complications that could lead to maternal mor11 tality and morbidity. 

12 (3) When fathers are involved during pregnancy 

13 appointments and milestones, mothers are 1.5 times 

14 more likely to receive prenatal care in the first tri15 mester, which improves health outcomes for both the 

16 mother and baby. 

17 (4) Father support during pregnancy can help 

18 promote behavioral health of the mother. 

19 (5) Father engagement reduces the risks of 

20 postpartum mood and anxiety disorders and contrib21 utes to a lower likelihood of preterm birth and a 

22 healthier birthweight. 

23 (6) Including fathers in conversations about 

24 safe sleep guidelines and sharing guidance about in25 fant crying and the risks of shaken baby syndrome 

26 can help reduce infant deaths. 


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1 (7) Active support of the father during 

2 breastfeeding greatly increases the chances of suc3 cessful breastfeeding, which improves the physical 

4 and mental health of the baby and the mother. 

5 (8) Physical contact between the father and the 

6 baby just after birth and in the months following 

7 birth has been shown to improve the health and de8 velopment of the baby, improve the mental health of 

9 the father, and foster father-child bonding in the 

10 short term and long term. 

11 SEC. 3. INCREASING AWARENESS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF 

12 FATHER INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT IN 

13 THE PREGNANCY, BIRTH, AND POSTPARTUM 

14 PROCESS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services shall carry out a public awareness cam18 paign to increase understanding of the importance of fa19 ther inclusion and engagement in improving overall health 

20 outcomes during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, 

21 for both the mother and baby. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The campaign under sub23 section (a) shall include— 


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1 (1) messaging intended to provide information 

2 to the public about the importance of a father’s role 

3 in pregnancy and parenting; 

4 (2) resources and information to counter pop5 ular narratives that minimize the importance of en6 gaged and involved fathers in pregnancy and par7 enting; and 

8 (3) resources and information that promote 

9 awareness about the impact of father inclusion on 

10 maternal and infant outcomes, including— 

11 (A) the importance of father-to-infant 

12 skin-to-skin contact in improving the health and 

13 development of a newborn and fostering father14 child bonding in the short and long term; 

15 (B) the role of fathers in promoting the 

16 behavioral health of the mother; 

17 (C) the role of fathers in increasing the 

18 number of prenatal and postpartum appoint19 ments a mother attends; 

20 (D) the effects of father attendance during 

21 prenatal and postnatal appointments; 

22 (E) the effects of paternal postpartum de23 pression; 

24 (F) the role of father support in improving 

25 rates of successful breastfeeding; and 


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1 (G) the role of father involvement in pro2 viding the mother with additional support to 

3 recognize potential pregnancy-related complica4 tions, which could include— 

5 (i) preeclampsia; 

6 (ii) peripartum cardiomyopathy; 

7 (iii) preterm labor; 

8 (iv) perinatal mood and anxiety dis9 orders; 

10 (v) pregnancy loss or miscarriage; 

11 (vi) stillbirth; 

12 (vii) high blood pressure; 

13 (viii) cervical infections; 

14 (ix) gestational diabetes; 

15 (x) placental abruption; 

16 (xi) ectopic pregnancy; and 

17 (xii) uterine rupture. 

18 SEC. 4. GUIDANCE TO STATES ON ENCOURAGING FATHER 

19 INCLUSION AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE PREG20 NANCY, BIRTH, AND POSTPARTUM PROCESS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

23 Human Services shall issue guidance to States that ad24 dresses how States can encourage and incentivize pro25 viders of maternity care, including hospitals, health care 


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1 systems, midwifery practices, freestanding birth centers, 

2 community health centers, and other maternity care pro3 viders, and providers of health care coverage, including 

4 managed care entities, to provide training and education 

5 to health care practitioners, such as pediatricians, obste6 tricians, and gynecologists, about the benefits of including 

7 and engaging fathers in the pregnancy, birth, and 

8 postpartum process. 

9 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidance under sub10 section (a) shall— 

11 (1) include information on how health care 

12 practitioners can— 

13 (A) offer peer-to-peer, father-to-father en14 couragement, support, and education in commu15 nities that traditionally are not inclusive of fa16 thers; 

17 (B) provide fathers with information on— 

18 (i) what to expect before, during, and 

19 after the birth process; 

20 (ii) how to better— 

21 (I) understand and support their 

22 partner throughout such process; and 

23 (II) serve as an advocate in her 

24 care; 


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1 (iii) recommendations and protocol re2 lating to pregnancy, postpartum, and child 

3 care, including— 

4 (I) maternal, infant, and routine 

5 childhood vaccines; 

6 (II) maternal warning signs; 

7 (III) the importance of fetal 

8 movement counting; 

9 (IV) maternal mental health and 

10 postpartum recovery; 

11 (V) breastfeeding practices; 

12 (VI) health care appointments; 

13 (VII) safe sleep practices; 

14 (VIII) skin-to-skin contact; 

15 (IX) baby care, including safe 

16 soothing of a crying baby; 

17 (X) child bonding; and 

18 (XI) early childhood development; 

19 and 

20 (C) screen fathers for depression and pro21 vide referrals for treatment that may positively 

22 impact child development and reduce the risk of 

23 adverse childhood experiences; 

24 (2) address cultural beliefs about fatherhood, a 

25 man’s role in maternal health, and families; and 


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1 (3) reaffirm a father’s ability to play a positive 

2 and valuable role during pregnancy, birth, and early 

3 childhood development, regardless of race or eth4 nicity. 

5 SEC. 5. GAO STUDY AND REPORT. 

6 Not later than 6 years after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

8 shall conduct, and submit to the Committee on Health, 

9 Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 

10 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 

11 Representatives a report describing the results of, a study 

12 on the effectiveness of this Act. 

Æ 


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