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.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a public awareness campaign about the importance of father involvement during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. It also requires HHS to issue guidance to states on encouraging maternity care providers and insurers to train healthcare practitioners on the benefits of engaging fathers in these processes. A GAO study on the effectiveness of the Act is required within 6 years.
Who Benefits and How
Fathers benefit by receiving more information, support, and inclusion in the pregnancy and parenting process. Mothers and infants benefit from improved health outcomes associated with greater father involvement, including reduced risks of preterm birth, postpartum depression, and pregnancy complications. Healthcare practitioners gain better training on how to engage fathers as partners in maternal and infant care.
Who Bears the Burden and How
HHS bears the cost and administrative burden of developing and running the public awareness campaign and issuing guidance to states. States and healthcare providers bear some burden in implementing training programs. Taxpayers fund the campaign, guidance development, and the GAO study.
Key Provisions
- Requires HHS to launch a public awareness campaign within 2 years on the importance of father engagement in pregnancy and parenting
- Campaign must include messaging on fathers role in maternal health, skin-to-skin contact benefits, breastfeeding support, and recognizing pregnancy complications
- HHS must issue guidance to states within 1 year on training healthcare practitioners to include fathers
- Guidance covers peer support, birth process education, depression screening for fathers, and cultural beliefs about fatherhood
- GAO must study and report on the Acts effectiveness within 6 years
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Directs HHS to launch a public awareness campaign and issue state guidance on the importance of father engagement during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
Key Policy Areas
Public Health, Family Policy, Healthcare
Primary Purpose
Directs HHS to launch a public awareness campaign and issue state guidance on the importance of father engagement during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill
Identified Gains
- Fathers seeking involvement in pregnancy and parenting
- Mothers and infants (improved health outcomes)
- Healthcare practitioners (better training)
Identified Costs
- HHS (campaign and guidance costs)
- States and healthcare providers (implementation)
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Gallego introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Department of Health and Human Services, Government Accountability Office
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology