The Effect of Expectant Fathers’ Training on Paternal-fetal Attachment

Background aim: Paternal-fetal attachment develops an emotional relationship between father and his infant which can affect their future interactions. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effect of expectant father’s training on paternal-fetal attachment. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted in two health centers in Mashhad, Iran in 2015. The participants consisted of 60 randomly-selected expectant fathers whose wives’ gestational age was 28 to 32 weeks. The intervention group received three 120-minute sessions of attachment training once a week as group discussion, lecture, video and educational booklet. Data collection was performed by means of two questionnaires including questionnaire for personal characteristics and fertility-related data and Weaver Cranley paternal-fetal attachment questionnaire. Two groups were assessed before, immediately after, and 3 weeks following intervention (follow-up) by paternal-fetal attachment questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS (version 22) using the Chi-square, independent t-test, Fisher’s exact tes, Mann-Whitney U test, and repeated measure ANOVA. Results: The results of repeated measures showed that mean scores of paternal-fetal attachment was not significantly different between the control and intervention groups before training (P=0.527) However, paternal-fetal attachment significantly increased at post-test (P=0.069) and follow-up (P=0.006) measurement in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: Attachment training increases paternal-fetal attachment; therefore, pregnancy care programs should include training sessions for expectant fathers.