Mother and Child are Doing Fine

Abstract

Research shows that while 96,7% of fathers believe that being involved in childcare is important, only one-third of their surroundings and health care professionals believe the same (Sardes, 2017). Other case studies (Reed, 2011) (Sicouri et al., 2018) (Early, 2001) also show that the attitude of health professionals and certain workplace norms prohibit men from involvement in pregnancy care and the care of their baby. In this thesis I research how fathers deal with this discrepancy. I answer the question: “How do paternal caregivers navigate between gendered expectations of parenthood and their own interpretations of fatherhood?” The gendered expectations that are studied, follow from educational content on pregnancy and infant care, the approach of health care professionals and institutions such as the workplace. This is studied through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with six fathers and a thematic analysis of three parenting books. The results show that fathers feel that they are portrayed in parenting books as the incapable and jolly parent who does not really care for parenthood. In the obstetrician’s office they feel predominantly taken seriously but they are still not fully included, which often pushes them into a subordinate position. Dutch parental leave policies limit new fathers both directly and indirectly in their process of becoming the father they aim to be, but still try to actively resist the workplace norms by taking more time of than is expected of them. These social and institutional barriers should be critically examined by professionals and institutions that work with fathers in order to transgress the normative ways of caring and parenting.