Distriktssköterskors erfarenheter av att möta förstagångspappor

Sammanfattning: Early contact with both parents is important for children and it is important to reach out to both mothers and fathers through parental education groups. Parent education program for fathers can lead to more fathers taking parental leave and becoming more involved in the care of their children. A lot of men lack support from the community after the birth of their child. The aim of this study was to illustrate district nurses’ experiences of meeting first-time fathers. Nine district nurses with at least one year experience of working in child welfare clinics were interviewed. The data were analyzed by content analysis. The result revealed five main categories; interaction, support for fathers, parental education groups, the wellbeing of fathers, and relationships. Each main category consists of various subcategories. The most important findings were the district nurses’ experiences of the fact that fathers sometimes are prevented from taking care of their children, the fathers’ interest in participating in parental education groups are greater during pregnancy than after the birth of their child, and that fathers as well as mothers can have mental health problems after the birth of their child. The result also revealed a lack of preparedness dealing with mental health problems in newly become fathers as well as difficulties to detect mental health problems among fathers. The district nurses in this study have significant experience in working with newly become families even though the mother and child are the focus of attention. In the future their work can focus on the whole family to an even greater extent.