EMPIRICAL STUDIES doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2009.00768.x Fatherhood in focus, sexual activity can wait: new fathers’ experience about sexual life after childbirth Ann Olsson RNM, PhD (Lecturer) 1 , Eva Robertson RNM, PhD (Senior Author) 2,3 , Anders Bjo ¨ rklund MDr, PhD (Senior Research Fellow) 4 and Eva Nissen RNMTD, PhD (Professor) 2,5 1 Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Caring Science, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, 2 Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 3 Bora ˚s University College of Health Science, Bora ˚s, 4 Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Solna and 5 School of Life Science, University of Sko ¨ vde, Sko ¨ vde, Sweden Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 716–725 Fatherhood in focus, sexual activity can wait: new fathers’ experience about sexual life after childbirth Background: Becoming a parent is overwhelming for most men and women and alters the sexual relationship for many couples. Aim: To describe fathers’ experience about sexual life after childbirth within the first 6 months after childbirth. Method: A descriptive design, using content analysis with a qualitative approach, based on focus group discussions and one-to-one interviews. Participants: Eight first-time and two subsequent fathers participated. Results: Three subthemes were identified: Struggling between stereotypes and personal perceptions of male sexuality during transition to fatherhood; new frames for negotiating sex; a need to feel safe and at ease in the new family situation. The over- arching theme emerged as ‘transition to fatherhood brings sexual life to a crossroads’ and guided us to a deeper under- standing of the difficulties men experience during the transition to fatherhood. To get sexual life working, a number of issues had to be resolved, such as getting involved in the care of the baby and the household and getting in tune with their partners in regard to sexual desire. The men needed to be reassured and prepared for this new situation by health care professionals. Conclusions: New fathers in our study put the baby in focus in early parenthood and were prepared to postpone sex until both parties were ready, although they needed reassurance to feel at ease with the new family situation. The fathers’ perceptions of sexual life extended to include all kinds of closeness and touching, and it deviated from the stereotype of male sexuality. This is important infor- mation for health care providers and midwives to be aware of for their encounters with men (and women) during the transition to fatherhood, and parenthood and can con- tribute to caring science with a gender perspective on adjustment of sexual life after childbirth. Keywords: sexuality, fatherhood, postnatal visit, childbirth. Submitted 22 September 2008, Accepted 23 November 2009 Introduction Becoming a parent is overwhelming and stressful for most men and women. Condon et al. (1) found that men demonstrated the highest symptom levels of stress during pregnancy, with a small improvement at 3 months postpartum, and a little change thereafter. These men appeared to be ill-prepared for the impact of parenthood on their lives, especially in terms of the sexual relation- ship with their partners. Condon et al. found that the peak period of distress was at the first assessment at 23 gestational weeks during pregnancy, and it decreased steadily postpartum. Sexual activity appeared to decline markedly from prepregnancy with only minimal improvement by the end of the first year after childbirth. Physical effects of the birth and tiredness affected sexual activity (2). A couple’s relationship changes when a child is born, and the attention is directed towards the child (3). In a study by Fagerskiold(4), fathers described an altered relationship that involved less time for each other; however, none of the fathers perceived that the relationship had worsened. A need for counselling fathers-to-be has been identi- fied. Boyce et al. found that insufficient information about pregnancy and childbirth contributed to psycho- logical distress in fathers. Furthermore, their distress was Correspondence to: Ann Olsson RNM, PhD, Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institutet, Retzius va ¨g 13 A, SE 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: Ann.Olsson@ki.se Ó 2010 The Authors 716 Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences Ó 2010 Nordic College of Caring Science