Orange County health department hosts free baby shower for new dads in Orlando

Orange County is putting fathers in the center of the baby-shower model, not on the sidelines. The Florida Department of Health in Orange County will host a free in-person baby shower for new dads on June 13 at Southside Health Center’s Lake Ellenor Auditorium in Orlando, a sign that fatherhood is being treated as an early caregiving role that deserves its own welcome, education and support.

The event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 6101 Lake Ellenor Drive, Orlando, FL 32809. Registration is available by scanning a QR code, and media inquiries go to Kent Donahue at Kent.Donahue@FLHealth.gov or 407-858-1418. The format matters because it moves beyond the familiar baby-shower script centered on the pregnant parent and instead gives new dads direct access to practical help before the baby arrives.

That broader push is already taking shape across Florida. The Florida Department of Children and Families says its Responsible Fatherhood Initiative includes educational programs, mentorship programs and one-on-one support, and the state says the Legislature appropriated more than $68.9 million for father services, public awareness efforts and evidence-based parenting education. That funding backdrop helps explain why a local health department would build a standalone event around fathers rather than folding them into a general prenatal class.

Orange County health programming already has a fatherhood component built in. Bellies, Babies, and Beyond, a federal Healthy Start initiative run by DOH-Orange, serves women and their families before, during and after pregnancy, includes male involvement workshops, and offers services at no cost. The program provides newborn care education, parenting education, car seat safety education and referrals to community resources, making it one of the county’s clearest examples of fatherhood being treated as part of maternal and infant health, not an afterthought.

The local infrastructure goes further. First 5 Orange County says the OC Fatherhood Coalition began in 2022, meets six times a year, and provides training resources to agencies that want to become father friendly while also supporting events for fathers and families. First 5 also offers ProFathering15 in English and Spanish. Healthy Start Florida’s TEAM Dad provides free home visiting services using the National Fatherhood Initiative’s 24:7 Dad curriculum for fathers of children from birth to age 3, while DAD-U offers a structured two-hour group session focused on fatherhood development.

The June 13 baby shower fits into a busy spring of fatherhood outreach. DOH-Orange is also scheduled to present a 36 Weeks and Beyond class on May 3 at the same Lake Ellenor Drive address, with breastfeeding, fatherhood and pregnancy on the agenda and no registration required. A Healthy Start Coalition of Orange County baby shower held on April 18 at Majestic Life Church in Orlando shows the format is already familiar locally. Together, the events point to a health system broadening the definition of who gets prepared for a baby, and who gets asked to show up as a parent from day one.