Adaptation Process of Fathers after Perinatal Loss And Their Care Needs

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the adaptation process of fathers to the loss of their baby in the perinatal period and clarify father’s care needs. We conducted semi-structured interviews of 12 fathers who had experienced a perinatal loss of their baby and analyzed data using a modified grounded theory approach（M-GTA）for adaptation process, and by categorizing the interview data for father’s care needs.

The M-GTA analysis on adaptation process extracted six categories and 38 concepts. Fathers were shocked by the unexpected death and felt emotional distance from their wife. They tried to come to terms with their grief and give support to the wife in their own way. Through conducting the father’s role, they were lead to a sense as a father. Once they recovered from the grief and saw their wife well-adjusted, they started to restructure their family and adapted themselves to daily life. They needed grief counselling and support to have a sense of father. They required information on pregnancy and delivery as well as how to support their wife. Nurses need to provide moral support for the fathers to allow them to be able to express their emotion and assist them having a sense of father and playing a role as a caregiver to their wife.