Abstract
Childbirth classes emphasize fathers' active participation in labor and delivery (L&D), but how well do fathers fulfill this role? We compared fathers' behavior during L&D to trained labor companions' (doulas) by time-sampling behavior of 12 low-risk nullipara couples for 1 hour during early and/or late labor and behavior of 3 doulas with 27 mothers in another population. During mothers' contractions, fathers differed strikingly from doulas: In early labor, fathers watched fetal monitors more (15.5 vs 2.3%*), were more often >3 ft. from mother (58 vs 17%*), and stroked and held (S&H) mothers less (16 vs 75%*) .In late labor, fathers were more often >3 ft. from (88 vs 13%*), offered fewer comfort items (2 vs 9%*), and S&H less (11 vs 75%*).
Surprisingly, in a survey of 51 couples, including our 12 observed couples, we found very few correlations between an individual mother's expectations and perceptions of L & D and those of her partner. Fathers and mothers were unable to gauge the effects of their behavior on one another or to accurately perceive their partners' emotional state.
In spite of fathers' passivity during L&D, both partners felt the father's presence during L&D was vital. Should the father be expected to provide more than emotional support for his partner during L&D, or can a doula and the father work together to make the experience less stressful for the couple?
*P<.001
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Nagashima, L., Bertsch, T., Dykeman, S. et al. FATHERS DURING LABOR: DO WE EXPECT TOO MUCH?. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 183 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00100
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00100