Anxiety in fathers in the perinatal period: A systematic review

Philpott, Lloyd Frank; Savage, Eileen; Fitzgerald, Sarah; Leahy‐Warren, Patricia

doi:10.1016/j.midw.2019.05.013

Cited by 87 publications

(103 citation statements)

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“…The first theme reinforces much of what is known about the transition to parenthood, a challenging time for both mothers and fathers [39][40][41][42][43][44]. Parents often felt they had a lack of knowledge and felt insufficiently prepared for the realities of parenting, particularly breastfeeding, which has been noted elsewhere [45][46][47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“They Just Need to Come Down a Little Bit to Your Level”: A Qualitative Study of Parents’ Views and Experiences of Early Life Interventions to Promote Healthy Growth and Associated Behaviours

Hennessy

Byrne

Laws

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The first 1000 days is a critical window of opportunity to promote healthy growth and associated behaviours. Health professionals can play an important role, in part due to the large number of routine contacts they have with parents. There is an absence of research on the views of parents towards obesity prevention and the range of associated behaviours during this time period. This study aimed to elicit parents’ views on early life interventions to promote healthy growth/prevent childhood obesity, particularly those delivered by health professionals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 parents (24 mothers, 5 fathers) who were resident in Ireland and had at least one child aged under 30 months. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Two central themes were generated: (1) navigating the uncertainty, stress, worries, and challenges of parenting whilst under scrutiny and (2) accessing support in the broader system. Parents would welcome support during this critical time period; particularly around feeding. Such support, however, needs to be practical, realistic, evidence-based, timely, accessible, multi-level, non-judgemental, and from trusted sources, including both health professionals and peers. Interventions to promote healthy growth and related behaviours need to be developed and implemented in a way that supports parents and their views and circumstances.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“They Just Need to Come Down a Little Bit to Your Level”: A Qualitative Study of Parents’ Views and Experiences of Early Life Interventions to Promote Healthy Growth and Associated Behaviours

Hennessy

Byrne

Laws

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Studies on perinatal adjustment indicate that those fathers expecting the first child might feel a higher level of insecurity during pregnancy and in preparation of childbirth than those who already have children (3). In line with findings in primiparous mothers (51), this might also lead to higher pregnancy-related worries in fathers (35,63).…”

Section: Associations With Obstetric Factorsmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Even though most parents perceive the transition to parenthood as a positive experience with excitement and joy, often negative feelings and insecurity are a substantial part of becoming a mother (1) or father (2,3). Hence, some parents develop high levels of anxiety or suffer from pregnancy-related anxiety and worry with potential negative consequences of maternal pregnancy-related worries for the health and development of the baby (1,(4)(5)(6).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manifestation and Associated Factors of Pregnancy-Related Worries in Expectant Fathers

et al. 2020

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Background: During the last decades, fathers have increasingly participated in prenatal care, birth preparation classes, and childbirth. However, comparably little is known about the prenatal emotional well-being of fathers, particularly content and extent of broader paternal concerns that may arise during pregnancy beyond those focusing on childbirth. Thus, the aims of this study were to investigate the manifestation of paternal pregnancy-related worries in a population-based sample and to identify relevant associated factors.Materials and Methods: As part of a longitudinal pregnancy cohort at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, N = 129 expectant fathers were assessed once during pregnancy. Pregnancy-related worries centering around medical procedures, childbirth, health of the baby, as well as socioeconomic aspects were assessed with the Cambridge Worry Scale (CWS). Additionally, paternal socioeconomic background and maternal obstetrical history, symptoms of generalized anxiety and depression, and level of hostility were investigated, as well as perceived social support. The cross-sectional data were analyzed based on multiple regression analyses.Results: The level of reported worries was overall low. Some fathers reported major worries for individual aspects like the health of a significant other (10.9%) and the baby (10.1%), as well as the current financial (6.2%) and employment situation (8.5%). Pregnancy-related worries were negatively associated with household income and positively associated with anxious and depressive symptoms and low perceived social support. Associations varied for specific pregnancy-related worries.Limitations: Due to the cross-sectional data examined in this study, a causal interpretation of the results is not possible. The sample was rather homogeneous regarding its socioeconomic background. More research needs to be done in larger, more heterogeneous samples.Conclusion: Though overall worries were rather low in this sample, specific major worries could be identified. Hence, addressing those fathers reporting major worries regarding specific aspects already in prenatal care might support their psychosocial adjustment. Fathers with little income, those with elevated levels of general anxious and depressive symptoms, and those with less social support reported higher pregnancy-related worries. Our results indicate the relevance of concerns beyond health- and birth-related aspects that could be relevant for fathers. Measurements developed specifically for expectant fathers are needed to properly capture their perspective already during pregnancy.

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“…However, prevalence rates of anxiety in fathers during the perinatal period are highly variable, ranging from 2.4% to 51%. This reflects, to some extent, cross‐study methodological differences in measurement, sampling, eligibility criteria, study setting, and cultural factors 5 . It should be noted that the rates of depression and anxiety in men and fathers are likely to be under‐estimates, in view of symptom under‐reporting by men.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In men, there is also a high coexistence of anxiety and depression, with high anxiety levels during the perinatal period contributing to depression, stress and perceived diminished self‐efficacy in coping with the challenges of fatherhood 4,5 . Unfortunately, our understanding of the trajectories of co‐occurring depression and anxiety in relation to perinatal stage, and of the precipitating, perpetuating and maintaining factors for depression‐anxiety occurrence in the prenatal and postnatal periods, is very limited.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Paternal perinatal mental disorders are inextricably linked to maternal and child morbidity

Seedat

2020

World Psychiatry

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Anxiety in fathers in the perinatal period: A systematic review

Cited by 87 publications

References 103 publications

“They Just Need to Come Down a Little Bit to Your Level”: A Qualitative Study of Parents’ Views and Experiences of Early Life Interventions to Promote Healthy Growth and Associated Behaviours

“They Just Need to Come Down a Little Bit to Your Level”: A Qualitative Study of Parents’ Views and Experiences of Early Life Interventions to Promote Healthy Growth and Associated Behaviours

Manifestation and Associated Factors of Pregnancy-Related Worries in Expectant Fathers

Paternal perinatal mental disorders are inextricably linked to maternal and child morbidity

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