Fathers in neonatal units: Improving infant health by supporting the baby-father bond and mother-father coparenting

Publication date: Available online 6 September 2018Source: Journal of Neonatal NursingAuthor(s): Duncan Fisher, Minesh Khashu, Esther A. Adama, Nancy Feeley, Craig F. Garfield, Jillian Ireland, Flora Koliouli, Birgitta Lindberg, Betty Nørgaard, Livio Provenzi, Frances Thomson-Salo, Edwin van TeijlingenAbstractThe Family Initiative's International Neonatal Fathers Working Group, whose members are the authors of this paper, has reviewed the literature on engaging fathers in neonatal units, with the aim of making recommendations for improving experience of fathers as well as health outcomes in neonatal practice. We believe that supporting the father-baby bond and supporting co-parenting between the mother and the father benefits the health of the baby, for example, through improved weight gain and oxygen saturation and enhanced rates of breastfeeding. We find, however, that despite much interest in engaging with parents as full partners in the care of their baby, engaging fathers remains sub-optimal. Fathers typically describe the opportunity to bond with their babies, particularly skin-to-skin care, in glowing terms of gratitude, happiness and love. These sensations are underpinned by hormonal and neurobiological changes that take place in fathers when they care for their babies, as also happens with mothers. Fathers, however, are subject to different social expectations from mothers and this shapes how they respond to the situation and how neonatal staff treats them. Fathers ...
Source: Journal of Neonatal Nursing - Category: Perinatology & Neonatology Source Type: research