By Ray Ross
I recently volunteered to be a “Dad Coach” at Pregnancy Solutions. You may recall that a couple of weeks ago Jacqueline Zdrojowy, CEO of Pregnancy Solutions, spoke at all of the masses telling us about all of the wonderful work that Pregnancy Solutions does to support the unborn, to assist mothers through the term of their pregnancy, as well as in the months following delivery. Her pre-mass talk was in connection with a collection to fund the Pro-life billboard that will go up on Route 41.
Pregnancy Solutions provides everything from pregnancy testing, to ultrasound scanning, abortion pill reversal, pregnancy and parenting education and, if requested, adoption counseling. Parents that use Pregnancy Solutions don’t have to worry about food for the baby, baby clothes, diapers, car seats. Everything is provided and it’s all through donor support.
Pregnancy Solutions also provides counseling for Rookie Dads because they recognize that the father is the number one influencer on the decision to get an abortion or keep the baby or become a family or give the baby up for adoption. Despite all the good work Pregnancy Solutions does, the father can also undo their positive work with the mother. As such, providing a positive foundation for the father is essential.
In short, the dads need help too and Pregnancy Solutions has an extensive program for them. A Dad Coach is there to guide and coach these Rookie Dads through the an comprehensive program.
The Rookie Dads program consists of an extensive curriculum. After an initial session and orientation. The program kicks off with “The New Dad’s Playbook.” In this section the Dad is provided with a binder with 14 pdfs covering everything from sex during pregnancy to labor, to making a budget, to labor and delivery. In short, they get a manual that they can refer to whenever they may have a question. During this part of the program, the coach takes them through each chapter of the printed material answering any questions they may have.
The next section of the program is called “Fundamentals of Newborn Care.” This section consists of 22 videos ranging from simple infant care, to childhood Immunizations, to toilet training and what milestones to expect in the first year of the baby’s life. As with each section of the program the father can jump around from video to video depending on what he wants to focus on. The Coach is there to answer any questions and provide additional information.
The next section of the curriculum is called “Discussions and Questions.” This section includes 20 different topics that range from “Ways to Raise Confident Kids” to “Sacrifices a Good Father Makes for his Child” to “10 Common Mistakes Men Make in Life.’
The remaining sections of the curriculum cover the following topics:
- Fathers with Sons
- Children and Discipline
- Bible Studies
- Fatherhood
- Taking Responsibility for Your Life
- Love, Sex and Dating
- Guardrails and
- Be a Godly Man
I was blown away by the work and the thought and the support being provided for Rookie Dads. As I spend more time in the program, I’ll provide periodic updates. If you’d like to know more about the program you can contact me at rayfross@yahoo.com, or Ben Jett who heads the program at ben@rookiedads.org. By the way John Yaglenski is a Director at Pregnancy Solutions and you may want to chat with John as well.