Experiences of Fathers Shortly After the Birth of Their Preterm Infants

Abstract

Objective
To explore the experiences of fathers shortly after the birth of their preterm infants.

Design/Method
A focused ethnography conducted over 33 months (2003–2006) in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a large U.K. National Health Trust (NHS) teaching hospital. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews with fathers (n = 10), and an ethnographic survey distributed to NICU staff (n = 87). Practices and relationships with fathers were concurrently analyzed thematically through the conceptual perspective of emotion work.

Findings
Fathers’ emotional reactions to their experiences were described in three themes: emotional withdrawal and control, stereotyping, and mixed feelings. Fathers’ emotional behaviors were governed by complex, culturally determined conventions and expectations.

Conclusions
Fathers engaged in considerable effort to manage their emotions as they attempted to reconcile the tension between what they wanted to feel and what they thought others expected them to feel. The results of this study support the view that focusing on emotional externalities alone tends to underplay the amount of emotion work carried out by less expressive individuals; this “silent emotion work” was characteristic of the fathers in this study.