The baby was the focus of attention – first‐time parents’ experiences of their intimate relationship

Abstract

The baby was the focus of attention - first-time parents' experience of their intimate relationship. The purpose of this study was to describe the phenomenon of 'first-time parents' intimate relationship', to focus on their mental health, and the ability to support them professionally. Ten Swedish parents (five couples) were interviewed on two occasions, when the first baby was 6 and 18 months old, respectively. A descriptive phenomenological method was used. The findings show that the essence of the phenomenon is 'The baby was the focus of attention'. This had different meanings for the couples, putting them in two categories. For the first category, the essence was that the baby was the focus of mutual concern, which implied a fostered relationship. The strain of parenthood in this category was mild. In the second category, the baby was focused on at the expense of the father, who felt rejected emotionally. This impaired the relationship and parenthood involved a severe strain. The way the spouses communicated differed between the two categories. This study shows that mental health can be affected, especially among first-time fathers, and this could jeopardize the relationship and family health. An awareness of this fact is needed among the health professionals giving care to first-time parents.

Fathers’ experiences after having a child: sexuality becomes tailored according to circumstances

“…Acknowledging time and energy as a cause for changing the expression of sexuality was common for all men and illustrated in earlier studies (Ahlborg and Strandmark, 2001;St John et al, 2004;Williamson et al, 2008). The limited time and often lacking energy created a focus on acknowledging each other through every day life and both previous research and this study confirm a new form of togetherness to evolve between the partners after having a child (Premberg et al 2008).…”

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

“…The fathers in this study reflected on parental education in light of their experiences of complicated birth; however, fathers with experiences of normal birth might have reflected differently on the parental education and formed other conceptions. The fathers in the present study focused on their baby and their involvement as a parent, as has previously been described (Ahlborg & Strandmark, 2001;Ahldén et al, 2008). Although the sample size is small, the findings highlight these fathers' conceptions, mapping the potential for parental education involving both parents in group activities and lecturing (Ahldén et al, 2008).…”

Reorganizing Life: A Qualitative Study of Fathers' Lived Experience in the 3Years Subsequent to the Very Preterm Birth of Their Child

“…The fathers expressed their initial difficulty in finding enough time to focus on their relationship with their partner and that may have impaired their relationship. However, prior research has indicated that this strain seems to be true, not only for the parents of preterm infants (Stjernqvist, 1992), but also for those of full-term infants (Ahlborg & Strandmark, 2001;Hall, 1995). Fagerskiold (2006) showed, in a Swedish study, that fathers of full-term infants had similar needs to mothers with regard to the support provided by healthcare nurses and it is to be assumed that the same is true for fathers of very preterm infants, not only after discharge, but also during the NICU period.…”