Today, on International Father's Mental Health Day, we are celebrating the fathers we have supported, the families we have reached, and the growing recognition that dads' mental health matters.

For too long, fathers have been the missing piece of the perinatal support system. While awareness is growing, many dads still tell us they feel overlooked during pregnancy, birth, and the early years of their child's life. Yet we know that fathers' wellbeing has a profound impact on children, partners, family relationships, and long-term outcomes.

At Dad Matters, our mission remains simple: to support babies by reaching and supporting dads.

A Year of Growth and Change for Dad Matters

The last year has been one of the most significant in Dad Matters' history.

Following almost a decade of development, innovation and evidence-building, Dad Matters has now fully transitioned into Home-Start UK from local Home-Start HOST in Greater Manchester. This marks an exciting new chapter, embedding father-inclusive practice within one of the UK's leading family support charities while maintaining the brand and specialist focus that have made Dad Matters so successful.

This transition creates new opportunities to strengthen our work, deepen our impact and expand our reach to even more families across the country.

We have also been incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of the 1001 Critical Days Foundation, whose investment and partnership continue to help us demonstrate the importance of supporting fathers during the earliest years of a child's life. Their commitment to ensuring babies receive the best possible start has enabled us to strengthen our evidence base, expand delivery, and advocate for fathers as an essential part of the early years system.

The Impact of Dad Matters in 2025-26

This year, Dad Matters projects across the UK engaged an incredible 17,249 fathers through universal and targeted activities.

These in-person conversations took place in antenatal clinics, Family Hubs, maternity services, neonatal units, community venues, perinatal mental health services, bereavement support pathways and many other settings where dads are often present but not always included.

Alongside this universal engagement, 889 fathers were referred for more intensive support, often by a professional around the family.

The dads we support represent a diverse range of experiences and backgrounds:

• 14% of referrals were from ethnic minority communities.
• 19% were fathers with disabilities, SEND needs or neurodivergence.
• 26% of referrals were fathers aged under 20.
• 5% were fathers aged under 25.

These figures demonstrate our continued success in reaching dads who may otherwise struggle to access support.

Most importantly, the support works.

This year:

• 84% of supported dads reported improvements in their wellbeing.
• 81% reported increased knowledge and understanding of parent-infant relationships and child development.

Behind every percentage point is a father who feels more confident, more connected and more able to support both their child and themselves.

As one dad told us:

"Someone is reaching out, building a relationship. We speak weekly and feel close. I'm able to say what I'm thinking and know these thoughts are OK."

This is what meaningful support looks like: creating safe spaces where fathers can talk openly, ask questions, build confidence and develop stronger relationships with their children - and crucially, reaching in for those conversations rather than waiting for dads to be ready to reach out.

Why Fathers' Mental Health Matters

Research consistently shows that paternal mental health affects not only fathers themselves, but also infant development, parent-infant attachment, family relationships and children's long-term emotional wellbeing.

Despite this, fathers often remain underrepresented in policy, service design and professional training.

Many dads tell us they want support but do not know where to find it. Others worry about stigma, feel services are not designed for them, or believe they should simply "get on with it".

The reality is that fathers face many of the same pressures and challenges as mothers during the transition to parenthood, while often receiving significantly less support.

With 2-3 babies every week losing their dad to suicide in the first 1001 days, we need to do more!

International Father's Mental Health Day provides an important opportunity to challenge those assumptions and ensure fathers are recognised as parents in their own right, with their own support needs and strengths.

Looking Ahead

As we approach our tenth birthday in June 2027, we are preparing for the next stage of the Dad Matters journey.

With continued support from the 1001 Critical Days Foundation and our growing network of local Home-Starts, we are currently working towards expanding Dad Matters into around ten additional Home-Start charities over the coming year.

This expansion will allow thousands more fathers to access support, information and opportunities to build stronger relationships with their children.

It also reflects something we have known from the beginning: when services actively engage fathers, families benefit.

Over the next twelve months we will continue to:

• Expand Dad Matters into new communities.
• Strengthen the evidence base for father-inclusive practice.
• Develop our toolkit, guides, templates and outcomes measures for the Home-Start network to draw on
• Support professionals to engage fathers effectively.
• Advocate for fathers within local and national policy.
• Ensure dads' voices are heard across the early years sector.

Every Dad Matters

International Father's Mental Health Day is a chance to celebrate progress, but it is also a reminder that there is still much more to do.

No father should feel invisible during pregnancy, birth or the early years.

No father should struggle alone.

And no child should miss out on the benefits of having a supported, confident and emotionally available dad.

As we look towards ten years of Dad Matters, we remain committed to our vision: ensuring that every dad matters, because every child matters too.

Thank you to our dedicated staff, volunteers, partner organisations, funders, professionals and, most importantly, the thousands of fathers who have trusted us to be part of their parenting journey.

Together, we are changing the conversation about fathers, one dad at a time.