Life experiences of French premature fathers: A qualitative study

The aim of this study is to explore fathers' life experiences in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the University Hospital of Toulouse, France. Forty eight fathers of premature newborns participated to this research. A qualitative approach was used with a semi-structured interview for data collection. The emerging themes were: relationship with the infant, feeling as a father, relationship with the medical staff and partner as well as family support.