Fatherhood, Reproductive Health, and Incarcerated Men: A Qualitative Study With Implications for Reentry

It is important to understand how incarcerated men conceptualize fatherhood for reentry. Sixteen interviews explored attitudes and feelings about parenthood, family planning, and challenges and strengths regarding fatherhood. Transcriptions were analyzed for themes using open coding. Parenting themes: being active in children’s lives, financial stability, and giving children better lives. Family planning themes: preventing sexually transmitted infection, creating stable families, importance of family planning, and birth control methods. Men were motivated to be stable fathers and utilize family planning to create stability; men expressed need for better partner communication. Fathers struggled to provide support/stability for children but expressed openness to learning parenting skills and family planning methods. Reentry strategies may address these themes to rehabilitate men and enhance family planning.