Dutch maternity care providers’ attitudes toward and support of young fathers: A cross-sectional survey-based study

Background: Given their often-vulnerable circumstances, young fathers’ childcare involvement is precarious. Despite the potential benefits of receiving professional support, young fathers experience exclusion or suboptimal support in maternity care. Insights into maternity care providers’ attitudes toward young fathers and their perspectives on the support they provide to this group are, however, lacking. Such insights could be helpful to better align support with young fathers’ needs. Aim: The study objectives were to examine maternity care providers’ attitudes toward young fathers and their perspectives on the support they provide to them, assess relationships between the two and investigate differences between and within occupational groups. Method: An online survey study was conducted with 183 Dutch midwives and maternity nurses. Findings: Maternity care providers reported positive attitudes and high levels of support. They indicated that they provide mainly affirmative support, followed by emotional, informational, and instrumental support. All forms of support correlated significantly with positive attitudes. Maternity nurses had higher positive attitude and support scores than did midwives, with the largest difference observed for instrumental support. Conclusion: Maternity care providers reported positive attitudes and high levels of support provided to young fathers, which stands in contrast with the father's experience of support. This difference suggests that having positive attitudes and the intention to deliver high levels of support are not by definition sufficient to meet young fathers’ support needs. Attention should also be paid to the forms and manners of support provided.