Black fathers’ perspectives on reproductive health remain largely unexplored, particularly during the critical fourth trimester when fertility returns quickly postpartum and short interpregnancy intervals pose significant risks to maternal and infant health. Despite extensive research demonstrating that male partners influence contraceptive uptake and continuation, public health has failed to tap Black fathers as a resource in efforts to address Louisiana’s maternal health crisis. Louisiana presents a compelling research environment due to its restrictive post-Dobbs policy context, where abortion is criminalized, and severe racial disparities in maternal outcomes, with Black women experiencing maternal mortality rates three to four times higher than white women.
This cross sectional mixed methods study with retrospective recall examines Black fathers in the New Orleans metropolitan area who have had a child within the past three years. The quantitative component (n ≈ 200 to 250) uses the validated Contraceptive Knowledge Assessment to document knowledge levels and examine predictors such as eHealth literacy, education, and fatherhood status. The qualitative component (n ≈ 25 to 30) employs semi structured interviews to explore reproductive health self efficacy, information seeking behaviors, communication with a child’s other parent, and navigation of Louisiana’s restrictive policy environment.

Guided by Public Health Critical Race Praxis and Social Cognitive Theory, this study examines how structural racism, restrictive policy environments, and healthcare system failures shape Black fathers’ reproductive health engagement rather than attributing knowledge gaps or communication barriers to individual deficits. The investigation aims to: (1) establish baseline contraceptive knowledge levels and examine how education, eHealth literacy, and fatherhood experience relate to knowledge patterns; (2) explore how Black fathers describe their reproductive health self efficacy and information seeking practices during the postpartum year; and (3) examine how Black fathers describe communication with their child’s other parent about family planning and reproductive health during the postpartum year.