The role of fathers during breastfeeding

Abstract

Objective: identify fathers' perceptions of their role in a breastfeeding context.

Setting: three different geographic areas (urban, semi-urban, and rural) of Quebec, a francophone province in Canada.

Participants: 43 fathers whose children had been exclusively breastfed for a minimum of six months.

Methods: a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was undertaken. Thematic analysis of the interviews was carried out with NVivo 11.

Findings: variations were identified in the role of father during breastfeeding, namely, 1) acting as partners in decision-making; 2) being responsible for the family functioning, and 3) providing emotional support to the mother. These different variants each entail challenges and tasks.

Key conclusions: participating fathers perceived their role as much more complex than the limited role of breastfeeding facilitator that is usually attributed to them. Fathers saw themselves as stakeholders in decision-making relating to how their child was fed and they reacted to the imbalance created by breastfeeding. Their involvement occurred at several levels: that of their child, their spouse, and their family.

Implications for practice: these results suggest that more attention should be given to fathers' roles in a breastfeeding context and more investigation is required into the extent to which health professionals, such as midwives and nurses, support fathers in managing these various roles and the challenges they entail.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; Father involvement; Father perspectives; Midwife; Nurse; Role.