gms | German Medical Science

Background: The transition to fatherhood represents a dynamic psychosocial process of change. The associated challenges can trigger uncertainties and insecurities in fathers, which may, in turn, have consequences for their experiences during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal phase. The concept of a sense of security is described as an elementary human need and a condition in which a person feels safe, secure, carefree, belonging to a group and free from anxiety. Although in the context of childbirth, the question of safety for mother and child determines the maternity care, little attention is paid to the sense of security as an individual experience. Furthermore, the research literature has mainly focused on the sense of security of both parents in the postpartum phase. Concerning pregnancy and childbirth, a few studies focus on the mothers’ sense of security. The experiences of the sense of security from the fathers’ point of view have received little attention in research.

Aim/Research question: The study focuses on the parents’ sense of security in the context of childbirth. The aim is to generate a theory about how the sense of security of both partners is constituted. In this presentation, partial results will be given in the form of selected conditions intervening in the fathers’ orientation strategies.

Methods: The study is based on the grounded theory methodology. The ethical clearing was given by the Ethics committee of Witten/Herdecke University in January 2016. A total of 50 individual interviews were conducted with parents from 6 months after the last baby’s birth.

Results: With obtaining orientation, the fathers can classify the situations regarding the birth process and their options for action. The orientation strategies used are particularly influenced by their birth concepts, previous experiences, and information handling. Here, the fathers strive to adapt their ideas to the wishes of the partner and, at the same time, to protect themselves from emotional overload.

Relevancy: The birth of a child is accompanied by many adjustment processes within the family which have to be coped with. Pregnancy and the birth situation can also be accompanied by uncertainties for fathers and thus minor or major challenges. For family-oriented health care, knowledge about the fathers’ individual security needs is necessary to adequately support them in their transition phase to fatherhood.

Recommendations/Conclusion: The study results showed that for fathers, getting their bearings is crucial for dealing with the challenges associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The support and strengthening behaviour of midwives and obstetricians is essential here. Special offers should be created for fathers where they can address their challenges and security needs.

Ethics and conflicts of interest: A vote on ethics was obtained. The research was supported by external funding. There are no conflicts of interest.