ORIGINAL ARTICLE From Fun and Excitement to Joy and Trouble z An Explorative Study zyxwv of Three Danish Fathers’ Experiences around Birth zyxwv Elisabeth 0. C. Hall School zyxwvutsr of Advanced Nursing Education at Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark Scand J Caring Sci 1995; 9: 171-179 The role of the father has undergone considerable change in the West. Fathers of today are expected to take a more active part in birth preparation, birth and childcare than their predecessors were. The purpose of the present study is to describe some Danish fathers’ experiences around birth. Three first-time fathers were interviewed at three different times: in the last month of pregnancy, two weeks after the birth of their child, and again three months later. Data were analyzed in several steps using a hermeneutical approach. The fathers’ experiences were identified as fun and excitement at the end of the pregnancy, hoe atfirst sight at the birth, at which they all attended and took an active part, awakening when the new family was united at home and when they came to realize how much effort is needed in caring for an infant, and joy and trouble three months later. It is suggested that health personnel might benefit from the study in both a direct and indirect way. Key words: fathering, role of the father, transition to fatherhood. Submitted 13 July 1994 Accepted 14 February 1995 zyxwvutsrq INTRODUCTION Societies are usually built around family systems with sex roles and traditions that are both transmitted and changed from one generation to the next. The role of the father in the Danish society, as in much of the West, has also changed. Fathers born in the first half of this century were socially influenced not to take part in women’s work. They could be omnipotent at work, but had little to say in their homes, which were the female domain. The father was the breadwinner. For the children, he became an alien authority (Hines 1971), a disengaged spectator or a guest-father (Holm et al. 1984, Gillis 1992). Later the father was still the breadwinner but became more important inside the home and in the lives of the children (Hanson zyxwvu & Bozett 1986). Despite this change, some American fathers were reported to have put up barriers against participation in family chores (Jordan 1993). Rustia & Abbott (1993) concluded that there is a cultural change in the perception of fatherhood but the actual conduct of fathers has not kept up with this; any significant change in the fathers’ care-taking behavior will take decades to become accepted. zyxwvu 0 Scandinavian University Press, 1995. ISSN 0283-931 8 Ten years ago many Danish families were dual- earners and fathers played an active part in childbirth preparation, birth and childcare (Sommer 1984). Christensen (1980) made a study of Danish parents’ reactions to their first child. Both fathers and mothers had personal problems learning to live with an infant. Christensen stated that the psychological reactions after birth are due more to the material and practical changes required in assuming responsibility for an infant than to physiologic and hormonal changes. She also found that the men who were most involved in childcare had a tendency toward depressive reactions. Another Danish study dealt with the parents’ sharing of chores and childcare (GBtzsche 1984). In the family with an infant the role conflicts were explained as a generational change; the father has to learn to be more of a father than his own father; the mother has to learn to be less of a mother than her own mother. She has to trust that her husband is capable of comforting a crying baby in his own way. This might be easier said than done for the new parents. Before birth the young family might have plans for an untra- ditional lifestyle, sharing equally the chores and child- care. After the birth there is a tendency toward Scand J Curing Sci