Dads are dying after their kids are born, and almost no one is tracking it
A Northwestern University study reveals that fathers in their 20s to 40s face high rates of preventable death, such as suicide and overdose, in the years following their child's birth. Researchers highlight a significant lack of tracking and support systems for paternal mortality compared to maternal mortality.
Why it matters
Identifying this 'blind spot' in public health could lead to new intervention programs that improve family stability and reduce preventable deaths among young parents.
Maternal mortality has become widely recognized as an urgent public health problem in the United States, although it took decades for the issue to receive sustained attention. The deaths of fathers, however, have attracted far less scrutiny.
Research has shown that fathers, especially men in their 20s through early 40s, are disproportionately affected by preventable causes of death including suicide, overdose, homicide and accidental injury. Yet researchers have rarely studied these deaths specifically in the context of becoming a parent.
Scientists at Northwestern University are working to bring more attention to that gap.
Most Deaths Among Fathers Were Preventable
In a new study, Northwestern researchers examined all 130,267 babies born in Georgia in 2017 and followed their fathers for the next five years, through 2022. During that period, 796 fathers died.
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