Life experiences of French premature fathers: A qualitative study

Transition to Fatherhood in the Contet of Prematurity From Prenancy to the hird Month after Dischare

“…However, in the other case (João), the worry with the development of his daughter and a strong feeling of guilt regarding the prematurity of the baby prevailed. Contrary to fi ndings of other studies (Arnold et al, 2013;Koliouli et al, 2016), these fi ndings indicate the possibility that fathers of preterm infants also feel responsible for the premature birth. Furthermore, it is surprising that it was this father, whose daughter was born with better clinical conditions and spent less time in the NICU, who reported guilt due to his daughter's health situation and showed greater diffi culties in visiting her in the NICU and becoming involved with her care.…”

“…In all three cases, the results indicated an intensifi cation of anxieties inherent in the experience of fatherhood and pregnancy, already present in typical situations (Genesoni & Tallandini, 2009), however, potentialized here by the clinical situation of the mothers, in view of the appearance of preeclampsia, the need for hospital treatment and the emergency delivery. The fathers of the present study revealed concerns regarding the health, survival, and/ or emotional condition of their spouses, raised due to complications involving the preterm birth (Coutinho & Morsch, 2006;Koliouli et al, 2016). In fact, the delivery and birth were considered one of the most emotionally intense events in the transition to fatherhood, fostering pride and pleasure and, at the same time, triggering anxiety, a sense of helplessness and worthlessness, with this happening even in cases of full-term birth (Genesoni & Tallandini, 2009).…”

“…Due to the fragility of the preterm infant and the unpredictability that characterizes the NICU, fear regarding the death and sequelae of the baby and feelings of helplessness and impotence are frequent among parents (Hollywood & Hollywood, 2011;Johnston, 2014;Lasiuk, Comeau, & Newburn-Cook, 2013;Stacey, Osborn, & Salkovskis, 2015). Fathers of preterm infants also express concern about the physical and emotional condition of the mothers, who generally feel guilty about the discontinuation of the pregnancy (Coutinho & Morsch, 2006;Koliouli, Gaudron, & Raynaud, 2016). In the period that the baby is in the NICU, the father has many roles and functions that range from the emotional support of the mother, supporting her at the time of the visit to the NICU, to communication with the health team (Tracey, 2002).…”

“…Similarly, Stacey et al (2015) emphasized the importance of the relationship with the team and also with other fathers to deal with the baby's hospitalization in the NICU, highlighting the fl exibility and empathy of the professionals. Other researchers have shown that emotional and fi nancial support from the grandparents is crucial for fathers to be able to assimilate all the emotional burden faced with such an unexpected and harrowing event as the birth of a preterm baby (Coutinho & Morsch, 2006;Koliouli et al, 2016;Lasiuk et al, 2013).…”

“…Although many studies have investigated fatherhood in the context of preterm birth, the vast majority have focused on the period of hospitalization of the infant in the NICU (Arnold et al, 2013;Coutinho & Morsch, 2006;Fegran et al, 2008;Hollywood & Hollywood, 2011;Koliouli et al, 2016;Stefana et al, 2018). Few studies have used a longitudinal design.…”