A review on effective factors and barriers of fathers' participation in perinatal care

Introduction: Pregnancy is one of the important, critical and at the same time glorious periods in the life of every woman, and the participation of men plays an effective role in improving pregnancy care and health of mother and baby. Spouses have been introduced as the most important sources of support during times of crisis and stressful living conditions. fathers’ presence during labour lead to a shorter labour and birth, better outcomes for the mother, and has a positive effect on parental relationships and attachment between father and child. Despite emphasizing the importance and benefits of men’s active engagement in reproductive health programs, their engagement in reproductive health care is low. According to the studies conducted, various factors are involved in the participation of fathers in prinatal care and Researchers have identified different barriers to men’savoidance of participation in various aspects of reproductive health in different parts of the world. The aim of this study is to identify and eliminate barriers of fathers' participation in pregnancy care.Material and methods: This study was a systematic review about the effective factors and barriers of fathers' participation in prinatal care. A systematic search was conducted in Electronic databases: PubMed Medline, Cochrane library, Science Direct, Springer, Scholar, Sid (from ۲۰۱۰ to ۲۰۲۴). After the initial review and search based on the list of sources, a total of ۱۰ Persian articles and ۲۳ English articles were included in the study.Result: The reviewed studies mentioned the following as facilitators of fathers' participation during perinatal care: Fathers’ attendance at antenatal education classes, Support of midwives and nurses, Postpartum leave for fathers, good financial status, planned pregnancy, Sharing experiences with other fathers, second pregnancy, men's desire and passion, men's education, increasing men's age, earning experience by fathers.The reviewed studies mentioned the following as barriers of fathers' participation during perinatalcare: Absence of fathers in prenatal education classes, poor communication withhealth care professionals, Ignoring fathers' expectations of being included as part of the birth team by midwives, use of medication during labour ( use of medication, including epidurals, led to lower levels of paternal involvement ), Commitment to paid employment, increase in the number of pregnancies, the number of births and the number of children, Men's low knowledge of prinatal care and its importance Your role in this era, Improper behavior of health care professionals, Inadequate skills of health care professionals and inappropriate equipment of health centers, Previous negative experiences in visiting health centers, Cultural barriers such as discomfort of husbands and midwives when communicating and giving information.Conclusion: Healthcare system programs and policies, economic and sociocultural issues, and men’s attitudes, knowledge, and preferences, influence men’s participation in reproductive healthcare. In order to enhance the experiences of the transition to parenthood for men and women, it is important that researchers’ and midwives’ have a greater understanding of fathers’ experiences when supporting their partner during labour and birth as well as the barriers and facilitators to fathers’ participation in decision making. Reproductive health initiatives should focus on eliminating challenges related to men’s supportive activities to increase men's practical participation in reproductive health care.

کلیدواژه ها:

perinatal care ، fathers participatin ، pregnancy