🗓️ The major milestones of expectant and new fatherhood

Step by step

1. 1. What to prepare

   Attend appointments with consent, plan transport and work arrangements, and learn everyday care skills.

2. 2. What to check

   After birth, share care and review support needs. Ask about mental health or bonding difficulties without treating them as a failure.

3. 3. In South Africa

   Confirm your clinic or midwife obstetric unit, referral hospital, transport plan and after-hours contacts. Bring pregnancy records and your baby’s Road to Health booklet to visits; private medical-scheme arrangements and public referral pathways differ.

4. 4. In South Africa

   Do not present the old ten-day father-only entitlement as the complete current rule. The Constitutional Court’s 3 October 2025 Van Wyk judgment introduced an interim shared parental-leave framework, described officially as four months and ten days shared between parents. Agree allocation and notice with employers, taking account of birth-parent recovery protections. Ask the Department of Employment and Labour or a labour lawyer about the current order and any subsequent legislation. Leave entitlement does not guarantee equivalent UIF payment or employer salary.

Same topic

• 🎒 Packing the nappy bag for an outing
• 🚗 Installing a car seat correctly
• 🌍 Out and about with baby: handling the outside world
• 🎁 The baby registry