Paternal mental health following perceived traumatic childbirth.

OBJECTIVE: the objective behind the current study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of fathers after childbirth trauma, an area of minimal research. This is part two of a two-part series conducted in 2014 researching the mental health of fathers after experiencing a perceived traumatic childbirth.

DESIGN: qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews and reporting of qualitative questions administered in part one's online survey (Inglis, 2014).

SETTING: interviews conducted face-to-face at an Australian University or on Skype.

PARTICIPANTS: sixty-nine responded to the online qualitative questions and of these seven were interviewed.

MEASUREMENTS: thematic analysis of verbal and written qualitative responses.

FINDINGS: thematic analysis of qualitative survey data and interviews found a global theme 'standing on the sideline' which encompassed two major themes of witnessing trauma: unknown territory, and the aftermath: dealing with it, and respective subthemes.

KEY CONCLUSIONS: according to the perceptions and experiences of the fathers, there was a significant lack of communication between birthing teams and fathers, and fathers experienced a sense of marginalisation before, during, and after the traumatic childbirth. The findings of this study suggest that these factors contributed to the perception of trauma in the current sample. Whilst many fathers reported the negative impact of the traumatic birth on themselves and their relationships, some reported post-traumatic growth from the experience and others identified friends and family as a valuable source of support.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: improved communication between midwifery staff and fathers before, during and after childbirth may reduce the rates of paternal postpartum mental health difficulties and experiences of trauma.