Fathers’ Presence in Delivery Rooms

Bradley, Robert A.

doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(62)72633-2

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Although some research reports have been published regarding fathers' attendance during labour and delivery (1)(2)(3)(4), very little has been written about fathers' perception of the delivery and its relation to subsequent crying in the first weeks of the infant's life. It is a challenge to explore factors which may be of importance to the family of an excessively crying infant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the past two decades an increasing interest in fathers' attendance during the pregnancy and delivery can be observed in the literature (5,7,8). Thus, much has happened since Bradley (1962) stated: 'In light of newer trends towards patients demanding and getting conscious, natural, spontaneous deliveries, the practice of excluding the father of the infant should be reviewed and reconsidered' (3: 474).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fathers' Experience of Childbirth and its Relation to Crying in His Infant

Wikander¹,

Theorell

1997

Scandinavian Caring Sciences

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As part of a research project exploring ways through which we can understand the crying infant and its family, this study focuses on the experiences of fathers during labour and delivery of their infant. In a previous part of the project it was shown that fathers' negative experiences during the childbirth were correlated with the amount of crying in the infant during the first months after birth. The aim of the present study was to explore and interpret the experiences that fathers reported in an interview when the infant was between six months and one year of age. A hundred and nine fathers were interviewed. The interviews, which took place in the families' homes and with both parents present, were carried out in dialogue form with open-ended questions. The results reveal that complications during the delivery were significantly correlated with the amount of crying in the infant. Feelings of helplessness, of guilt and that staff behaviour had been negative were more common in the group of fathers who experienced the delivery as a negative event. 'Locus of control' seems to be the most relevant concept.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fathers' Experience of Childbirth and its Relation to Crying in His Infant

Wikander¹,

Theorell

1997

Scandinavian Caring Sciences

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“…And, as Elaine Scarry has suggested, this highly visible moment of discomfort emerged as the one overwhelmingly understood as requiring the greatest medical intervention and treatment 3. Evolving out of broader medical and cultural attitudes towards the allegedly unprecedented levels of pain experienced by Anglo-Canadian mothers in the act of giving birth, these views on the proper timing and administration of anaesthesia in the birthing room represent, as Wolf argues, ‘a classic example of medical authority usurping medical need when defining necessary medical treatment.’50 From the mid-20th century onwards, both women’s personal reports and medical research suggested that the transition between the first and second stages of labour—the moments before active pushing commences—has been experienced as the most painful part of birth for many women 51. Writing in their diaries and personal correspondence in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, nevertheless, Canadian women echoed and added fuel to medical rhetoric, describing the moment of birth as a period of especially acute discomfort or ill health 36.…”

Section: Conclusion: Labour Pain and The Practice Of Anaesthetisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting understandings of labour pain in Canadian medical history

Wood

2018

Med Humanities

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While pain in childbirth is a universal, cross-cultural, biological reality, individual experiences and perceptions of this pain are historically and culturally specific. At the turn of the 20th century-a key period in terms of both the medicalisation of birth and the professionalisation of obstetrics in the Canadian context-Canadian physicians understood and conceptualised 'birth pangs' in a number of varying (and at times competing) ways. Throughout the 19th century, doctors emphasised the broader utility of pain as a diagnostic tool and a physiologically necessary part of the birthing process. With the advent of anaesthetics, including chloroform and ether, however, a growing subset of the medical profession simultaneously lauded the professional, physiological, and humanitarian benefits of pain relief. By the first decades of the 20th century, shifting understandings of labour pain-and particularly growing distinctions between 'pain' and 'contraction' in mainstream medical discourses-underscored the increasing use of obstetric anaesthesia. Drawing on a broad range of medical texts and professional literature, and focusing on a key historical moment when the introduction and adoption of a new medical technology opened up possibilities for professional debate, this paper unpacks both the micropolitics and the macropolitics of shifting understandings of labour pain in modern Canadian medical history.

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“…They were worried that fathers would get in the way of the treatment of mother and baby, or otherwise interfere with patient care. [7][8][9] They also believed that fathers might faint, get ill, or become emotional, thus diverting the attention of the medical team away from care of the patient. [7][8][9][10][11] Physicians expressed concerns that their performance could be compromised by having fathers looking over their shoulders, 12 and that husbands might misunderstand teaching discussions, making ''clinical training of house staff in labor and/or delivery rooms .…”

Section: The Oppositionmentioning

confidence: 99%