Childbirth as a traumatic event for attendant fathers

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics.

Characteristic	Values	N (%)	Mean (SD)
Age (years)	18–25	4 (1.8)
	26–35	151 (67.4)
	36–45	63 (28.1)
	46–55	6 (2.7)
Level of education	Elementary	1 (0.4)	5.42 (1.1)
	High school	18 (8)
	Professional	6 (2.7)
	Post high school	12 (5.4)
	Partial academic	22 (9.8)
	Academic	164 (73.2)
Marital status	Single	1 (0.5)
	Married	192 (86.5)
	Living with partner	29 (13.1)
Income	Below average	25 (11.2)
	Average	70 (31.4)
	Above average	128 (57.4)
Religiosity^a	Not religious	174 (79.1)
	Traditional	25 (11.4)
	Religious	21 (9.5)
No. of children	1	112 (50.2)
	2	68 (30.5)
	3	36 (16.1)
	≥ 4	7 (3)
Age of baby (months)			6.9 (4.0)
Country of birth	Israel	186 (83)
	USA	7 (3.1)
	Europe	21 (9.4)
	Other	7 (3.1)
Education	Non-academic	58 (25.8)
	Academic	167 (74.2)
Economic status	Lower than average	23 (10.2)
	Average	72 (32.0)
	Above average	130 (57.8)

Note: ^aReligiosity refers to self-proscribed religious adherence: secular (not religious), keeping some traditions but not strictly (traditional), and religious (keeping religious laws).

Table 2. Birth characteristics.

Characteristic	Values	N (%)
Length of pregnancy (weeks)	37–40	160 (71.4)
	< 37	13 (5.8)
	> 40	51 (22.8)
Preparation course		149 (66.5)
Birth place	Hospital	186 (83)
	Natural birthing centre	11 (4.9)
	Home	21 (9.4)
	Other	6 (2.7)
Type of birth	Vaginal + assisted	200 (90.6)
	Elective caesarean	8 (3.1)
	Emergency caesarean	16 (6.3)
Father’s reason for attending birth	To support partner	190 (84.4)
	To know that partner and baby were OK	35 (15.6)
Time spent with partner during labour	100%	178 (79)
	<100%	43 (21)
Father’s feeling of control	No control	22 (9.8)
	Sometimes felt control	63 (28.1)
	Usually felt control	77 (34.4)
	Always felt control	62 (27.7)
Father’s level of participation		11.5 (3.6)

Table 3. Means, standard deviations, and correlations between study variables.

		M	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1	Emergency birth	0.18	0.38
2	Father’s participation	4.74	6.11	−.65**
3	Medical team shared information	1.27	1.40	−.77**	.71**
4	PTCI	1.76	0.79	−.17	.18*	−.03
5	PCL-5	1.53	0.67	.01	.08	−.05	.61**
6	LPE	1.44	0.87	.13*	−.02	−.15*	.13	.01
7	SI	4.49	0.87	−.13*	−.03	.15*	−.12	−.04	−.55**
8	MB	2.47	1.23	.25**	.07	−.13	−.03	−.01	.54**	−.26**
9	NE	3.58	0.96	−.22**	.01	.17**	−.21*	−.17*	−.47**	.62**	−.31**
10	Fear of Childbirth total	45.20	21.48	.23**	.03	−.27**	.21*	.06	.90**	−.70	.60**	−.85**

Note: PTCI = Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory; PCL-5 = PTSD Checklist for DSM-5; Fear of Childbirth subscales: Lack of Positive Emotions (LPE), Social Isolation (SI), Moment of Birth (MB), and Negative Emotions (NE).

*p < .05, **p < .01.

Figure 1. Relationships between emergency birth, father’s participation, and information sharing by the medical team, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and fear of childbirth, mediated by traumatic cognitions. PE = positive emotion; NE = negative emotion. Note: *p < .05, **p < .01. Only significant paths appear in the figure.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, SAF. The data are not publicly available owing to ethical committee restrictions.