First-time fathers experiences of their prenatal preparation in relation to challenges met in the early parenthood period: Implications for early parenthood preparation

- Fathers lacked active guidance from professionals to access reliable information.
- Fathers want to find prenatal strategies to deal with the life-change a infant brings.
- Focus on fathers' relation with their infant may enhance their parental preparation.
- An important concern is lack of acknowledgement of fathers as equal parents.
- Multiple pedagogical approaches to parental preparation should be applied.

Objectiveto describe first-time fathers experiences of their prenatal preparation in relation to challenges met in the early parenthood period.Designa qualitative study was conducted and data was analysed with a phenomenographical approach.Setting and participants15 first-time fathers were recruited from three postnatal units in southern Sweden and interviewed approximately one month after their baby was born.Measurements and findingsthree categories and 14 conceptions about fathers' experiences of their preparation emerged from the data. 'Acquiring knowledge and forming realistic expectations' was essential for 'Developing strategies' and 'Being facilitated and supported' enhanced these processes.Key conclusions and implications for practicesupporting fathers to develop strategies for life with a new baby and providing expert guidance to fruitful and accurate information may help the construction of a fatherhood identity and strengthen the fatherhood role. The findings can be used to develop a parental preparation for early parenthood that will correspond to fathers' needs.