The impact of COVID-19 on first-time fathers’ journey towards fatherhood

Abstract

A retrospective study of the lived experience of first-time fathers as they transitioned into fatherhood in the midst of the COVID-19 in Malta was the focus of this research. This included looking at the pregnancy, birth and postnatal period and the effects that COVID-19 mitigation measures had on their journey towards fatherhood. A qualitative approach was the appropriate design for this study. Six first-time fathers were interviewed, all of which had experienced the birth of their first child between March 2020 and July 2022. Recorded interviews were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Approach, through which five super-ordinate themes emerged: “The Unknown”, “Living Through The Pandemic”, “Preparing for Fatherhood in the Context of the Pandemic”, “Becoming A COVID Father” and “Left Out”. Emerging sub-ordinate themes reflected the feelings of the fathers throughout their journey towards fatherhood, including fear, stress, and resilience. The content of these themes highlighted the uniqueness of the challenges that these fathers faced. Moreover, experiences of the fathers who were not able to attend visits, the birth, or stay with their new family after the birth left them feeling robbed of an experience that could never be replaced. To ensure that the results were not biased, self-reflexivity and triangulation were used as methods of credibility. The implications rising from the results were that fathers needed to be included throughout the process of pregnancy and parenthood, and protection against the virus should not have come at the expense of the fathers’ right to be present in milestone moments.