Attachment in pregnancy : expectant fathers' acquaintance with their unborn children

Forty-one first time expectant fathers whose wives were in the third trimester of a low-risk pregnancy were randomly assigned to the control or the intervention group. Both groups were pretested and posttested with Cranley's Paternal-Fetal Attachment Scale. A specific prenatal teaching protocol was carried out with members of the intervention group. The protocol covered: awareness of fetal abilities and responsiveness, palpating fetal parts, and listening to the fetal heartbeat. No significant differences were found between groups. Scores did increase significantly within the groups. Expectant fathers involved in a planned pregnancy increased their attachment scores significantly over those with an unplanned pregnancy. A number of men spontaneously expressed appreciation and enthusiasm over the teaching protocol.