Abstract
Background
Early labour care presents a challenge for maternity services and is a cause of dissatisfaction
for women planning birth in an obstetric or midwifery unit who may feel unsupported
or unwelcome at their planned place of birth. Little is known about the perspectives
of men who support their partner during early labour.
Methods
Opportunity sample offathers (n = 12) in the UK who had been present during their partner’s labour in the previous twelve
months. Semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed before thematic
analysis.
Results
Fathers learned about the stages of labour during antenatal education and felt well
prepared for early labour but found their knowledge difficult to apply, and relied
on their partners to decide when to travel to the planned place of birth. Early labour
was described as the ‘calm before the storm’ during which they carried out practical
tasks or rested to ensure they could fulfil their role when labour progressed. However,
men frequently felt ‘like a spare part’ during the later stages of labour.
Discussion
The study has implications for antenatal educators, midwives and others supporting
couples during pregnancy and labour. It supports reconsideration of how information
about labour progress can be most usefully conveyed to couples. Professionals could
acknowledge the value of supportive tasks carried out by fathers that might otherwise
be experienced as doing ‘nothing’. Further research should recruit more diverse samples
of men and same-sex couples. Dyadic data collection methods may be of value.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 23, 2019
Accepted:
November 6,
2019
Received in revised form:
November 6,
2019
Received:
July 4,
2019
Identification
Copyright
Crown Copyright © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Australian College of Midwives. All rights reserved.
