MANY fathers are letting their partners down after the birth of their children, a survey has revealed.

The exercise by North West Durham MP Hilary Armstrong showed that out of 333 new mums questioned one in five rated their partner’s support as poor or merely adequate.

The former cabinet minister, whose constituency includes Wear Valley and parts of Derwentside, said: "We have to make sure we are listening to mums in order to build the sort of public policy response necessary to ensure we are supporting young children to give them the best possible start in life.”

Nigel Connah, fathers' co-ordinator of Willington Children's Centre said: "Although the majority of dads are viewed by mums as giving good or excellent support following birth of their children, these figures suggest one in five may still have some way to go in supporting their partners properly.

“We try to get dads involved in all that we offer, from breastfeeding workshops to baby massage and baby groups to dads n kids group.

“Dads make a huge difference and we are here to help and support them through their fatherhood journey."

The women were also quizzed on health and parenting issues, including smoking and children’s diet.

It showed while 50 quit smoking packs were requested by mums 15 per cent of households where a child is under five still include a smoker.

Ms Armstrong said: "It is encouraging that so many mums with children in households with a smoker have signed up for help to quit.

“The support services available now literally are fantastic for this, but we just have to make sure people know what help there is available."

Over 70 per cent of mums also asked for more information when they were quizzed on diet requirement like five-a-day and main food groups.

However, 93 per cent rated the support at Sure Start and Children Centre's as very good or excellent.

The service from midwives, health visitors and baby clinics was also given a thumbs-up with eight out of ten mums also rating it as good or excellent.

Lynn Reed, of Willington Children's Centre, said: "It is very reassuring to hear that local parents value the services delivered by the Children's Centre team.

“We are always striving to improve our service delivery to children and families therefore feedback from local families is very important to us."

Children's dietary and quit smoking packs can be ordered at www.hilaryarmstrong.com or by calling 01388-767065.