Elements of fatherhood involved in the gestational period: a scoping review.
Willyane de Andrade Alvarenga, Maria da Conceição Silva Castro Sousa, Joice Kelly Lima de Sales and 3 others
PMID 38716905WHAT IT FOUND
Fathers described five ways to be involved during pregnancy: feeling like a father, providing and protecting, partnering in pregnancy, attending prenatal visits, and preparing for baby care.
Work schedules and care focused on mothers often excluded them.
Key findings
01The review identified five elements of involved fatherhood during pregnancy: feeling like a father, being a provider and protector, being a partner and participant in pregnancy, participating in prenatal appointments, and feeling prepared to take care of a baby.
02Fathers reported anxiety about their partner’s and child’s health, childbirth, financial stability, breastfeeding, and soothing a crying baby.
03Work schedules and employers not allowing time off made it difficult for some fathers to attend prenatal appointments.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It is a scoping review of experiences and themes, not a trial, so it cannot show which interventions work. The authors found few studies and few guidelines on this topic, limiting what can be said about effectiveness. The search was limited to studies before the COVID-19 pandemic, so it may not reflect current care. The included studies had different designs, countries, and samples, and the review does not give a total number of fathers across them. Much of the evidence is qualitative or descriptive, so it reports what fathers said rather than measured outcomes.
Declared interests
The work was supported by CAPES through a post-doctoral grant and a doctoral scholarship. The supplied text does not include a separate competing-interests declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that father-inclusive prenatal care improves maternal, neonatal, or family outcomes. It maps fathers’ experiences and themes, and the authors state that the evidence is too limited to attest to the effectiveness of interventions.