ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2024
Promoting men-inclusive maternity services: exploring the expectations, experiences and needs of men as fathers.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Gender equity and sustainable development through the lens of fertility intentions among highly educated women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Male involvement interventions influencing maternal reproductive health outcomes: a narrative synthesis using RE-AIM with implications for maternal mortality in Africa.Frontiers in health services · 2025Pooled it
- Support in the Shadows: Findings From a Qualitative Study Exploring Fathers' and Non-Birthing Partners' Perceptions and Experiences of Support During a Termination for Medical Reasons.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- What Is My Role? A Qualitative Study of Labor, Birth, and Postpartum Experiences of Partners.Nursing & health sciences · 2026Article
- Exploring Men's Perception of Participating in the Natural Childbirth Process: A Qualitative Content Analysis.International journal of community based nursing and midwifery · 2026Article
- Factors influencing husbands' participation in antenatal care: A study in Maluku, Indonesia.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2026Article
- Clinical and maternal factors related to father's involvement in pregnancy: a cross-sectional study.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimThis study aimed to explore the 'real time' expectations, experiences and needs of men who attend maternity services to inform the development of strategies to enhance men's inclusion.
methodsA qualitative descriptive design was adopted for the study. Semi-structured face-to-face or telephone interviews were conducted with 48 men attending the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital before and after their partner gave birth. Data were coded and analysed thematically.
resultsMost respondents identified their role as a support person rather than a direct beneficiary of maternity services. They expressed the view that if their partner and baby's needs were met, their needs were met. Factors that contributed to a positive experience included the responsiveness of staff and meeting information needs. Factors promoting feelings of inclusion were being directly addressed by staff, having the opportunity to ask questions, and performing practical tasks associated with the birth.
conclusionAdopting an inclusive communication style promotes men's feelings of inclusion in maternity services. However, the participants' tendency to conflate their needs with those of their partner suggests the ongoing salience of traditional gender role beliefs, which view childbirth primarily as the domain of women.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.