1. Baby Makes 3: Respect and Equality

2. Baby Makes 3 Goal: “To promote equal and respectful relationships between men and women during the transition to parenthood.”

3. How does Baby Makes 3 prevent violence against women? Addresses the key drivers of violence against women: Stereotyped constructions of masculinity and femineity Condoning of violence against women Men’s control of decision making Disrespect towards women

4. Transition to parenthood Change in relationship dynamics due to changing roles Gendered norms and expectations Key risk period – 2015 Maternal Health study 1 in 5 women experienced emotional and / or physical abuse in first 12 months after birth. Window of opportunity: engage fathers

5. What is Baby Makes 3? Centrepiece: Baby Makes 3 Group Program – 3-week program for first-time parents about healthy relationships Supported by: – Workforce capacity building – Policy – Partnerships

6. Baby Makes 3 Group Program Three evening sessions Mothers and fathers attend with their babies Co-facilitated by male and female facilitators Group work approach Usually delivered as part of MCH Service’s new parent group program

7. Current BM3 Projects Two large-scale BM3 projects – Department of Justice and Regulation funded 3 year project “Reducing violence against women & their children” grants program – Three-year period (2013-15) – Delivering BM3 across 12 councils – Eastern Metropolitan region and Great South Coast – Baby Makes 3+ (GSC only) working with ante-natal services to develop a seamless service model Currently 10 additional councils and 8 other agencies are in vary stages of delivering or planning a BM3 program (incl NSW, Qld). Koolin Ballit BM3 project

8. Our Achievements Across both projects: – 48 men and women have been trained as facil – 157 groups conducted across 12 LGAs – 1705 first-time parents attended the program – Over 76% of mums and 81% of dads reported the program very good or excellent – Different implementation models have been tested to determine a sustainable program across a range of different sites and settings.

9. Our findings: Parents report changes in: – Awareness – Attitudes – Skills – Behaviour Enhanced communication skills / conflict resolution Importance of social connections

10. Key messages from parents that other parents experience the same problems/challenges as us; the importance of partners’ time together and building/maintaining intimacy; understanding society’s expectations of mothers and fathers; the importance of the father’s time with child; the importance of task sharing; the importance of team working; problem solving and conflict resolution as particular relationship skills; ‘equal’ does not mean ‘same’.

11. Learnings and challenges – from a regional context Who aren’t we reaching? – Issue of uptake into NPG. Access to BM3 directly impacted by who’s accessing MCH services – In GSC, 39% of first-time mums don’t attend NPG. – Some groups under-represented – “young” mums, CALD Low birth numbers / geography/staffing/seasonal issues (farms)

12. What we have done Early establishment of strong partnerships Pool of facilitators to address distance issues Attending all new parent groups SMS reminders to parents Ante natal “pre BM3 session”-boost attendance- parents identified this as important PD training on gender equity / MCH package

13. Where to from here? Apply the evaluation findings to refine the delivery and update the program resources Review of MCH new parent groups Continue and expand the ante natal program Gender equity lenses in all services Advocate for father engagement and MCH capacity building Royal Commission findings Advocacy to embed BM3 messages in policy

14. Baby Makes 3 Acknowledges funding and support from the Department of Justice and Regulation and Carrington Health. Contact Details: Libby Hargreaves Carrington Community Health Services Ltd 03 8843 2368 lhargreaves@carringtonhealth.org.au Steve Dawkins Warrnambool City Council 03 5559 4759 sdawkins@warrnambool.vic.gov.au