Father Groups in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Background: Parents' participation in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) reduces length of stay and positively affects infants' psychological, cognitive, and behavioural outcomes. Healthcare professionals in the NICU focus on both parents, but tend to have the main focus on the mother and the infant. Therefore, fathers may experience a lack of support and feel that they are being disregarded in the NICU. Purpose: To study fathers' experiences with father groups during NICU admission with their preterm infant. The father group is a 90-minute intervention based on dialogue between fathers and a male healthcare professional. Methods: A qualitative content analysis was conducted using 10 online semistructured interviews with fathers participating in a father group. The study was reported according to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research. Results: The overall theme emerging from our analysis was “Emotional support, encouragement, and an enhanced capacity to deal with the situation and with life in the NICU.” This theme emerged from the categories “Meeting with peers and sharing reflections” and “Fathers' territory” based on 5 subcategories. Implications for Practice: Participation in father groups gives fathers recognition for being important as parents in the NICU, improves fathers' mental well-being, and enhances their coping capacity. Father groups support fathers in the NICU and can be integrated into NICU practices and policies to enhance a family-centered approach. Implications for Research: This study revealed a need for further research to determine whether participation in a father group has a measurable effect on clinical outcomes.