ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2022
"It's a lot of pain you've got to hide": a qualitative study of the journey of fathers facing traumatic pregnancy and childbirth.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of Methods and Practice for Integrating Maternal, Fetal, and Child Health Outcomes, and Family Spillover Effects into Cost-Utility Analyses.PharmacoEconomics · 2024Pooled it
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Fathers' Experiences of Early Parenting: A Qualitative Study.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- Associations between formal social support in early postpartum, parenting self-efficacy, and parent-infant bonding: A cross-sectional survey.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2026Article
- Partners' childbirth experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic - findings from the Swedish COPE prospective cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- Parent hospital experiences following stillbirth.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- A Systematic Concept Analysis of Psychological Birth Trauma in Couples.International journal of women's health · 2026Review
- Stigmatization Attitudes and Affecting Factors of Parents with and Without Children with Cancer: A Cross-sectional Study.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2025Article
- Psychological Distress, Post-Traumatic Stress and Emotional Suppression in a Pregnancy After a Perinatal Death: A Longitudinal Survey.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Article
- Screening Measures of Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing in Fathers: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Parent-to-parent advice before the birth of a stillborn baby.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Promoting men-inclusive maternity services: exploring the expectations, experiences and needs of men as fathers.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Dads in Distress: symptoms of depression and traumatic stress in fathers following poor fetal, neonatal, and maternal outcomes.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis study aims to explore the emotional and behavioural responses and coping strategies of fathers or expectant fathers who faced a significant traumatic event during a partner's pregnancy, labour, or the postpartum period.
methodsThis prospective qualitative study of 24 fathers was conducted at a public teaching hospital in Brisbane, Australia. 'Traumatic pregnancy' was defined as a pregnancy complicated by life-threatening or severe risk to the mother and the fetus, termination of pregnancy, intrauterine fetal death or stillbirth. Semi-structured interviews of participants were conducted 3-4 months after the traumatic event. An initial qualitative analysis with automatic coding was performed using Leximancer and later followed by a six-phase manual thematic analysis.
resultsA pregnancy-related traumatic event had significant mental and physical impacts on fathers. Participants' reactions and coping strategies were varied and influenced by their background history, pre-existing vulnerabilities, and the gap between expectation and reality. Most fathers described a fluctuating state between their needs 'not being met' and 'being met'. These needs were conceptualised using Maslow's hierarchy and Calman's gap theory to construct a composite thematic model to depict the universal requirements of men facing a traumatic pregnancy or childbirth.
conclusionsA greater understanding of the needs of men and gaps in their care is urgently needed. A targeted effort is required to make maternity services father-inclusive. This approach may assist in preventing long term consequences on fathers, partners, and their children.
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