Where is the F in MCH? Father involvement in African American families.

Objectives: To: 1) review the historical contexts and current profiles of father involvement in African American families; 2) identify barriers to, and supports of, involvement; 3) evaluate the effectiveness of father involvement programs; and 4) recommend directions for future research, programs, and public policies.

Methods: Review of observational and interventional studies on father involvement.

Results: Several historical developments (slavery, declining employment for Black men and increasing workforce participation for Black women, and welfare policies that favored single mothers) led to father absence from African American families.

Microvascular complications and the diabetic pregnancy.

Without strict glycemic control, diabetic pregnancies are frequently complicated by spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, or congenital malformation. Retrospective studies have been largely reassuring that pregnancy does not accelerate morbid outcomes in women with diabetic vascular disease. Improved outcomes of high-risk pregnancy in women with pregestational, type 1, or type 2 diabetes mellitus remain challenging, depending on a comprehensive and multidisciplinary team approach and extensive preconception counseling.