Swedish Men’s Experiences of Becoming Fathers to Their Preterm Infants

Abstract

Purpose:To describe Swedish men’s experiences of becoming fathers to their preterm infants.Design:A cross-sectional descriptive study.Sample and method:Eight men participated in semistructured interviews with open-ended questions. The interviews were analyzed using manifest and latent content analysis.Main outcome variables:The concepts of control and noncontrol.Result:The manifest analysis of the interview text produced six categories: concern, stress, helplessness, security, support, and happiness. The latent content interpretation indicated that the concepts of control and noncontrol were relevant to the fathers’ experiences. The men’s experiences of early fatherhood were influenced by their ability to experience control. When concern, stress, and helplessness dominated the fathers’ experiences and coincided with low levels of happiness, support, and security, they experienced noncontrol. Conversely, when they experienced support, security, and happiness, they felt that they were in control and able to handle the situation.