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Men's experience of their transition to first-time fatherhood during their partner's pregnancy: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Meleagrou-Hitchens, L-A. & Willig, C. ORCID: 0000-0001-9804-9141 (2022). Men's experience of their transition to first-time fatherhood during their partner's pregnancy: an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Men's Health, 18(1), article number 15. doi: 10.31083/jomh.2021.102

Abstract

This was a qualitative study employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to capture the lived experiences and sense-making of seven male participants (aged 29–41), whose partner was in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and four superordinate themes emerged during the analysis: (1) Pushed and Pulled in Different Directions, (2) A Rollercoaster of Emotions, (3) A Long and Lonely Road and (4) Anticipating Fatherhood. The prenatal period seemed to constitute a turbulent time in the participants' lives and involved them experiencing intense, conflicting emotions and psychological states amidst a shifting sense of self, with few support resources available to them. Implications for counselling psychologists are discussed, with suggestions for future research made.

Publication Type: Article
Additional Information: ©2021 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Publisher Keywords: Transition to fatherhood; Expectant fathers; Father-to-be; Pregnancy; Prenatal period
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Departments: School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Psychology
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