Fathers' Lived Experiences of Getting to Know Their Baby While Acting as Primary Caregivers Immediately Following Birth

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the meaning of the father's lived experiences when taking care of his infant as the primary caregiver during the first hours after birth, when the infant was apart from the mother due to the mother's postoperative care. Fifteen fathers were interviewed between 8 days and 6 weeks after the birth. The results describe a movement toward father-child togetherness characterized by an immediate and gradual change within the father as he undertakes increasing responsibility while getting to know his child. The results can be discussed in antenatal classes in order to integrate the father's important role in the care of his infant, especially in a situation where the mother-infant dyad has been interrupted.

Fathers' sense of security during the first postnatal week—A qualitative interview study in Sweden

“…The idea of paternal participation in childbirth was initiated in the industrialised world during the 1970s when men were given the opportunity to be present at the birth. Our study shows that fathers are prepared and willing to take part in the processes of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood and are keen to take their responsibility in the early postnatal period which confirms results from other recent studies (St John et al, 2005;Erlandsson et al, 2008). A sense of security may strengthen the fathers' confidence and therefore enable adjustment to fatherhood.…”

Mother’s Experiences and Perceptions of a Continuous Caring Model with Fathers after Caesarean Section: A Qualitative Study

“…The findings of this present study support the suggestion of Velandia, et al 21 The mothers felt that during mother-infant separation ties were created between the father and the newborn, which supports findings of other studies in this area. 8,[23][24][25] Regarding benefits to the parents and family as a whole, the results of this study are consistent with a review and meta-synthesis of 29 original qualitative papers from 9 countries which explored the experiences of 401 mothers and 94 fathers.…”

Prenatal Parental Education From the Perspective of Fathers With Experience as Primary Caregiver Immediately Following Birth: A Phenomenographic Study

“…The mothers were in postoperative care due to a variety of birth-related complications, such as retention of placenta with or without blood loss, rupture of vagina or sphincter, elective or acute cesarean surgery because of maternal and/or fetal indication, and spinal or general anesthesia. The fathers took care of the child in a room, a kitchenette, or a day room at the birth unit, on the maternity ward, or in a room at the neonatal intensive care unit (Erlandsson, Christensson, & Fagerberg, 2008).…”