One fourth of all Swedish fathers perceive the childbirth as stressful, horrible or even grotesque. Negative feelings about the delivery is most common in cases where the fathers have taken part of a Caesarian section, says midwife Margareta Johansson in a new thesis at Mid Sweden University.
- Fathers who have taken part of a Caesarian more often think that the woman received insufficient medical care, says Margareta Johansson.
In her doctoral thesis ”Att bli far” (Becoming a father), she has followed more than a thousand fathers-to-be from the middle of the pregnancy to one year after the birth of the child. The results show that 26 per cent of the fathers perceived the delivery negatively and describe it as stressful, horrible or grotesque.
- To a larger extent than others, they considered the support from the midwife to be insufficient and fathers to have less possibilities to take part of the decisions during the delivery.
A worse delivery experience and earlier experiences of a Caesarian section increased the wish for a Caesarian when choosing delivery method, in spite of the previous negative experiences.
The thesis also shows that information and support from the midwife is important in order for the fathers to feel participation and safety during the delivery of the baby.
- My results show that a vaginal delivery should be encouraged in order to have a positive experience. The fathers who are met with respect and empathy feel safe and think that the couple is being taken good care of, says Margareta Johansson.