MUNCIE, Ind. -- Fathers want to be more involved in the birth and caretaking of their newborns and medical professionals need to more effectively prepare them, two Ball State University nursing educators say.

A study conducted by Diana Bantz, assistant professor of nursing, and Ann Wieseke, associate professor of nursing, found new dads reporting frustration and disappointment in the way doctors and nurses addressed their questions concerning parenthood.

The study found Dad was being attended to very little, if at all, during his wife's pregnancy or immediately following the delivery.

"Even wives noticed the lack of attention aimed at preparing their husbands for taking care of the new baby," Bantz said.

"These women recognized that the men, as well as their important questions and concerns, were basically being ignored by the very people supposedly committed to helping the entire family nurture their new life."

Bantz and Wieseke researched the effects of pregnancy on fathers by looking at 18- to 30-year-old Caucasian, predominantly married couples in two Midwest hospitals. They found most fathers agreed that doctors and nurses should be addressing their needs, not just those of their partner.

Some fathers described feelings of being in the way at the hospital during delivery and shortly after, while others said they were made to feel as if they were outsiders, making their very presence awkward, if not seemingly unnecessary, to those attending the mother's specific needs.

In particular, Bantz and Wieseke discovered that fathers wanted:

• specific information on infant caretaking skills
  
• emotional support for them as new parents
  
• information on different child development stages, the importance of psychomotor skills, and related parenting advice.

Bantz cites recent changes in how society perceives"traditional" parenting as a possible factor for fathers wantingto become more involved in the raising of their children,particularly in the very early years.

But for this to work, Dad cannot be left in the dark. Bantzand Wieseke say health care workers must not be blind to theneeds of fathers.

"This information needs to be taken seriously by the medical community," Bantz said. "Doctors and nurses must start adapting their focus to include much more than the immediate needs of the new mother and baby. They need to realize the roles fathers play as well."

Today, both husband and wife need to be equally educated about the arrival of their new baby if shared parenting styles are to be successful, says Bantz.