The Experiences of First-Time Fathers in Perinatal Services: Present but Invisible

Abstract

Fathers in the UK are becoming more involved in the care of their infants and children. A constructivist grounded theory approach was adopted to explore men’s transition to fatherhood. This paper reports on one of the sub-categories derived from the data. First-time fathers with a child under two were recruited predominantly via social media. Audio-recorded semi-structured interviews were undertaken with an opening question asking men to tell their story of becoming a father. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using constructivist grounded theory methods. This paper reports one core aspect of the research findings which has particular relevance for healthcare professionals. The men in this study were highly appreciative of the care their partner and baby received but consistently reported a lack of father-specific support throughout their journey to fatherhood. This ranged from generally poor communication with healthcare professionals to being ignored and side-lined in maternity settings where they continued to be treated as visitors before, during and after the birth of their baby. Despite similar findings being reported over the last 30 to 40 years and policy directives emphasising the importance of working with fathers, change within healthcare services remains slow. Currently, fathers’ needs are not being adequately met by perinatal services.

“Any advice for a pre-dad who is freaking out?”: A qualitative analysis of paternal perinatal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic using the reddit forum predaddit

“…Fathers consistently reported feeling supported by other fathers and stated the value of the forum. This finding extends previous qualitative literature that has reported fathers' desire for services and programs tailored towards fathers specifically (Baldwin et al, 2018;Hodgson et al, 2021).…”

“…Qualitative research methods allow us to better understand the unique perspectives of individuals from the target population and capture the nuanced experiential details that are otherwise missed in quantitative methods. A consistent theme in the expectant father literature is a need for access to father-inclusive professional support and parental education (Baldwin et al, 2018;Hodgson et al, 2021). Yet, the needs of mothers are often prioritized by professional staff, family members, and friends, leaving fathers to feel as though their own concerns and needs are neglected or unimportant (Darwin et al, 2017).…”

Positive postpartum well‐being: What works for women

“…This can range from poor communication with HCPs, to being ignored and side-lined in maternity settings where they feel treated as visitors. 27 Our findings align with previous research, which shows that women value partner inclusion as an acknowledgement of their partner's vital supportive role, 28 and extend beyond this by demonstrating that women perceive the inclusion of their partners as a comforting evolution from out-dated perceptions that mothers are solely responsible for childcare within the family unit.…”

Parent and Peer Attachments in Adolescence and Paternal Postpartum Mental Health: Findings From the ATP Generation 3 Study

“…Prevention targets for men are of particular importance in a context where formal perinatal supports within health services are focused predominantly on mothers and infants (Panter-Brick et al, 2014;Allport et al, 2019;Hodgson et al, 2021). Of note are growing calls for gender-specific programs for males during adolescence when a divergence in mental health outcomes, gender-based identities, behavioural risks, and barriers to support, start to become pronounced (Patton et al, 2018;Rice et al, 2018).…”