Fathers attending labour and their understanding of the birth process

Abstract

This is a qualitative study based on Michel Maffesoli's sociological concepts. It aimed to understand the father's experience during labour and birth. The research scenario was the Natural Birthing Centre Dr David Capistrano, an intra-hospital unit of the Sofia Feldman Hospital. The research subjects were 14 fathers present during the labour and birth of the couple's first child. Both parents had no children from previous relationships. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and later analysed using content analysis. The present study presents the data related to the first category: "when a child is born, a father is born" that refers to two feelings experienced by the father during labour. Firstly, they perceive pain as necessary to birth which he can experience with the mother. Secondly, their contradictory feelings of fearing the unknown, the unexpected, and the responsibilities inherent to their new role, as well as the emotions the experience generates. The study provided new tools to identify the fathers' perception on labour, pointing out new considerations about fatherhood and the importance of the father's presence during labour, in the eternal instant of childbirth.