Supporting Fathers During Stressful Times in the Nursery: An Evidence-Based Review

This article reviews research on sex differences in communication with a focus on communicating with fathers and mothers in the nursery during times of stress. Summaries of meta-analytic research are presented. This review indicates that similarities between the sexes clearly outweigh differences in men's and women's responses to and provision of supportive communication. Both men and women report that messages with a high level of person-centeredness are most sensitive and supportive. Examples of these messages include engaging in empathic understanding, helping the troubled person verbalize feelings, providing justifications for the intensity of feelings, and contextualizing the reasonableness of the person's feelings. Suggestions are also provided for communicating with mothers and fathers in the stressful environment of the neonatal intensive care unit.