“The best moment of my life”: a literature review of fathers' experience of childbirth

Abstract

Despite the near universal attendance of fathers at childbirth there is comparatively little research on men's experience of this event. This is accompanied by scant focus on men during childbirth education and during labour. To bridge this gap between practice and research a narrative literature review was conducted. For this purpose, a range of electronic databases were researched for the keywords “fathers/men and childbirth”.

Key Findings: Most men find childbirth both wonderful and distressing. They often don't live up to their expectations and are confused about their role. Focusing childbirth education and hospital practices more on men's needs may reduce their distress levels and improve both maternal and paternal satisfaction.