Early and late discharge after hospital birth: father's involvement in infant care

Abstract

The father's involvement in his baby's care was studied in three groups of fathers: 49 randomly allocated to an experimental group (EG) with mother and infant discharged from hospital 24-48 h after birth, 52 allocated to a control group (CG) with traditional hospital postpartum care, and 237 randomly selected from parents not interested in participating in an evaluative study of early discharge (NPG). The ordinary length of hospital postpartum stay was 5-6 days. Fathers in EG spent more time with the baby (nappy changing, bathing, holding etc...) than fathers in CG during days 2-4 after the birth. No effect of this extended contact was observed measured as father involvement in infant care during the 2nd and 6th week after the birth, and utilization of parental leave during the first year.