gms | German Medical Science

Background: Until the 1970s, there were excessive hygiene regulations for the purpose of safety in obstetrics in Germany, one component was the exclusion of accompanying persons. Moreover, birth was considered a “woman’s business”. From the 1980s, accompanying of the woman giving birth by her partner as the closest person of trust became part of the concept of family-oriented birth. Nowadays, the presence of the partner during birth is established. The positive effects of the presence of an accompanying person on the birth process have been widely documented. However, studies on the well-being of the accompanying person themselves are rare. Fathers want to accompany the birth, they want to be recognised in their status as fathers and be part of the birthing couple. They want to be involved, feel useful and receive adequate information. This contrasts with reports that they often have to struggle for recognition of their existence in the delivery room and feel ignored and do not belong. They report feelings of insecurity and fear, helplessness, frustration, anger and despair.

Aim: The aim of this project, leading to the author’s doctoral degree, is to develop a questionnaire to assess the subjective well-being of accompanying persons during a physiological birth. The project will be realized within the framework of the clinical study “Be-Up: Active Birth”.

Methods: An online questionnaire will be developed based on a systematic literature research and results of parallel interviews with accompanying persons. After a cognitive and a classical pretest as well as an expert rating, n=300 accompanying persons will be interviewed anonymously. If a subsequent revision of the questionnaire is required, n=300 accompanying persons will again be interviewed anonymously in a second survey wave.

Results: Literature research and interviews reveal concrete subject areas that represent the subjective well-being of accompanying persons during a physiological birth. It is assumed that a valid and reliable measurement instrument can be constructed that reliably distinguishes persons with high subjective well-being from persons with low subjective well-being during birth. Further expectations are that correlations can be identified between subjective well-being of the accompanying persons, birthing room and interventions, and that group differences exist with regard to the design of birthing rooms.

Relevancy: The majority of fathers in Germany would like to take on active fatherhood. Same-sex partners also want to be actively involved. The birth of the child represents the transition from partnership to parenthood and the birth experience of the non-birthing parent has an impact on the beginning of parenthood, on the relationship with the woman and the feelings towards the newborn. Against the backdrop of family-centered childbirth and the promotion of modern parenting, it is therefore necessary to shed light on and possibly improve the well-being of the accompanying persons.

Conclusion: This research project can help to close the gap in the current data and provide valuable results for the support of physiological birth. It can help to promote modern parenthood and support the establishment of equal structures.

Ethics and conflicts of interest: A vote on ethics was obtained. The research was financed by own resources. There are no conflicts of interest.