Father's presence in the delivery room: expectations, feelings and meanings during the birth

• Main Authors: Juliana Teixeira Antunes, Luciana Barbosa Pereira, Maria Aparecida Vieira, Cássio de Almeida Lima
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria 2014-11-01
• Series: Revista de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
• Subjects: pai; parto; parto humanizado; paternidade; salas de parto.
• Online Access: https://periodicos.ufsm.br/reufsm/article/view/12515

Doi: 10.5902/2179769212515 Objective: to describe the expectations, feelings and meanings experienced by fathers during their participation in the birth of their child. Methods: it is a qualitative research, in which the semi-structured interview technique was applied to 10 fathers in April, 2009 in a public maternity hospital in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. The data were subjected to content analysis. Results: the experience of the fathers involved conflicting feelings, curiosities, fantasies and expectations during the birth of the child. Even so, the fathers could provide assurance and affection to their wives and companions, and considered this experience to be the discovery of a new possibility of paternity. Conclusion: the father’s presence in the delivery room is still incipient, but reveals a new role and a new paternity to be discovered and performed by the fathers, besides being a positive aspect for a successful delivery. Objective: to describe the expectations, feelings and meanings experienced by fathers