Fathers' involvement during pregnancy and childbirth: An integrative literature review.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of existing literature on the current perceived levels of paternal involvement during the pregnancy and childbirth periods and the factors influencing this involvement. DESIGN: An integrative literature review. DATA SOURCES: A systematic search was conducted using the databases of PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Scopus. REVIEW METHODS: Studies were included for the review if they were published in English from the period of 2005-2015. Studies that focused on fathers' involvement until one-year postpartum were also included and information on parental involvement during the pregnancy and childbirth periods was extracted. A report of the search outcomes was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses. The studies were appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical Appraisal Checklists. FINDINGS: Thirty-one studies (17 quantitative, 9 qualitative, and 5 reviews) were included in this appraisal. While fathers desired to be actively involved in the antenatal and intrapartum periods, they cited several barriers that impeded their involvement. These barriers were examined as part of the factors influencing their levels of involvement, including the levels of informational support, attitudes towards involvement, qualities of marital relationship, relationships with their own parents, and sociodemographic factors. KEY CONCLUSIONS: There was a lack of literature that focused on enhancing fathers' involvement during pregnancy and childbirth. Few studies attempted to evaluate fathers' levels of involvement in association with its influencing factors. Instruments that were used by the studies to measure paternal involvement did not comprehensively capture the actual phenomenon of fathers' involvement. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Prospective studies examining the factors influencing fathers' involvement in greater depth will help to inform interventions to increase their involvement during pregnancy and childbirth. The effects of the interventions can be evaluated based on improved paternal involvement, maternal satisfaction, and relevant health outcomes. Future research can also focus on the development of a more robust tool to measure fathers' involvement.

Factors influencing first-time fathers' involvement in their wives' pregnancy and childbirth: A correlational study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine factors influencing first-time fathers' involvement in their wives' pregnancy and childbirth in Singapore. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study was conducted in a public tertiary hospital in Singapore. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 182 first-time fathers whose wives were hospitalized at four obstetric wards were recruited from November 2015 to January 2016. MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected by three newly developed and validated instruments, namely Father's Involvement in Pregnancy and Childbirth, Father's Informational and Sources of Support, and Father's Attitude Towards Involvement in Pregnancy and Childbirth, as well as the 16-item Couple Satisfaction Index and Family of Origin Questionnaire. FINDINGS: The participants were generally involved in their wives' pregnancy and childbirth, with 35.2% being highly involved. There was no significant difference in fathers' levels of involvement between or among any sociodemographic subgroups. Significant Spearman's correlations were found between fathers' levels of involvement and levels of informational support as well as fathers' attitudes towards involvement. However, the logistic regression showed the level of informational support was the only significant factor that influenced first-time fathers' high levels of involvement in their wives' pregnancy and childbirth. KEY CONCLUSION: The study revealed the importance of providing sufficient informational support to first-time fathers so that they can be highly involved in their wife's pregnancy and childbirth. Future studies can develop technology-based intervention programmes to improve fathers' involvement in their wife's pregnancy and childbirth. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Healthcare professionals should examine and improve the existing informational support for first-time fathers and ensure its relevance and convenient access.