Having a baby by cesarean: an experience for fathers

With the significant increase in the United States over the past decade of birth by Cesarean section, comes the need for attention to be paid to what this experience engenders for the fathers of these newborns. This paper outlines the sequence of feelings fathers experienced during the Cesarean birth of their infants, as they expressed them in a hospital based group led by a social worker and nurse. Understanding and sensitivity to this experience for fathers on the part of health care providers augments their capacity to make necessary, supportive and productive interventions with this parent group.