ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2018
'They're born to get breastfed'- how fathers view breastfeeding: a mixed method study.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Relatively speaking? Partners' and family members' views and experiences of supporting breastfeeding: a systematic review of qualitative evidence.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Pooled it
- Supporting breastfeeding together: the role of fathers' attitude and self-efficacy in enhancing mothers' breastfeeding empowerment.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Fathers' perspectives on the breastfeeding experience: a qualitative study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Understanding fathers' responses to breastfeeding as a "shared parental task": a realist evaluation of a Danish breastfeeding support intervention.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Mothers' and fathers' experiences of breastfeeding and returning to paid work after birth: A mixed-method study.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Breastfeeding experiences and women's self-concept: Negotiations and dilemmas in the transition to motherhood.Frontiers in sociology · 2023Article
- A qualitative descriptive study of Thai fathers' experiences in supporting their partners' breastfeeding.Belitung nursing journal · 2023Article
- Longitudinal changes in wellbeing amongst breastfeeding women in Australia and New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic.European journal of pediatrics · 2022Article
- Translating fathers' support for breastfeeding into practice.Primary health care research & development · 2021Article
- A mixed-methods feasibility study of an intervention to improve men's mental health and wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood.BMC public health · 2021Observational
- From dyad to triad: a survey on fathers' knowledge and attitudes toward breastfeeding.European journal of pediatrics · 2021Article
- Relationships between paternal attitudes, paternal involvement, and infant-feeding outcomes: Mixed-methods findings from a global on-line survey of English-speaking fathers.Maternal & child nutrition · 2021Article
- Hidden Realities of Infant Feeding: Systematic Review of Qualitative Findings from Parents.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Predictors of Early Introduction of Core and Discretionary Foods in Australian Infants-Results from HSHK Birth Cohort Study.Nutrients · 2020Article
- Fathers' Attitudes Toward Mothers with Infants and its Association with Exclusive Breastfeeding in a Rural Community of Karnataka.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social MedicineArticle
- Fathers' Experiences and Perspectives of Breastfeeding: A Scoping Review.American journal of men's healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundFathers' attitudes and actions can positively or negatively affect mothers' intentions to breastfeed, breastfeeding duration and exclusivity. In-depth information about fathers' perspectives on breastfeeding are largely absent in the literature about infant feeding. The objective of this research was to investigate how fathers view breastfeeding.
methodsThis mixed method study recruited Tasmanian fathers with children < 24 months of age. Fathers completed a questionnaire and participated in either semi structured one-on-one or group interviews. Transcripts were analysed using a process of iterative thematic analysis.
resultsTwenty-six fathers participated in the study. They had a mean age of 34 years and just over half were first time fathers. A total of 13 fathers lived in areas classified by SEIFA as disadvantaged. Twenty-one reported they had decided as a couple to breastfeed their current child. Fathers' views on breastfeeding are complex, multi-layered and change over time: as babies get older, as fathers get more familiar with feeding babies, when feeding practices change and when family circumstances change. Four thematic categories related to how fathers view breastfeeding were identified; Breastfeeding as healthy and natural, the value of breast feeding and breastmilk, a pragmatic approach to breastfeeding and Breastfeeding as something achieved or imposed.
conclusionFathers in our study valued breastfeeding and saw it as healthy and natural for babies. However, many of the fathers in our study had seen their partners struggle with breastfeeding. As a result some also viewed breastfeeding as a potentially harmful practice for mothers. Their accounts demonstrated that breastfeeding problems affect families, not just mothers and infants. There is scope for improvement in the care of women during and after birth to reduce breastfeeding problems and for fathers to learn more about breastfeeding prior to the birth of their child.
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