Swedish Men’s Experiences of Becoming Fathers to Their Preterm Infants

Abstract

The manifest analysis of the interview text produced six categories: concern, stress, helplessness, security, support, and happiness. The latent content interpretation indicated that the concepts of control and noncontrol were relevant to the fathers' experiences. The men's experiences of early fatherhood were influenced by their ability to experience control. When concern, stress, and helplessness dominated the fathers' experiences and coincided with low levels of happiness, support, and security, they experienced noncontrol. Conversely, when they experienced support, security, and happiness, they felt that they were in control and able to handle the situation.

The Primacy of Work and Fathering Preterm Infants

“…25,39 Increased paternal involvement was correlated with better infant outcomes and positive fathering practices. 40,41 Holding their infants helped fathers feel love 42 and happiness, 43 and initiating the practice of skin-to-skin holding enabled fathers to hold their infants sooner. 44 Fathers exhibited more nurturing behaviors when the mothers encouraged them, when primary nurses helped them feel more comfortable in the NICU, and when there were other children at home.…”

Bonding and Prematurity: Exploratory Study on Early Paternal Involvement in Hospitalization Contexts

“…Many men do not allow themselves to share their anxiety and fear during this period because they feel the need and/or obligation to protect their partner (O'Leary & Thorwick, 2006;Peterson, 2008). However, he fathers interviewed seemed to have a desire to be heard, expressed by the need to talk and the willingness to participate in the current study (Lundqvist & Jakobsson, 2003;Olin & Faxelid, 2003).…”

Semantics-driven design for bonding with human scent

“…Although most literature concerning parents in the NICU is focused on mothers or both parents, a growing body of literature is looking specifically at how fathers experience and cope with (premature) childbirth (Lundqvist and Jakobsson, 2003;Lundqvist et al, 2007;Lindberg et al, 2007;Arockiasamy et al, 2008;Sloan et al, 2008). In their study, Hollywood and Hollywood (2011), through interviews, conclude that premature childbirth instigates a multitude of experiences for fathers, which are diverse and complex.…”