Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ghosts in the Ultrasound: Expectant Fathers’ Experience of Trauma

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Handbook of Fathers and Child Development

Abstract

This chapter examines the experiences of expectant fathers, with particular focus on how the prenatal period may be a period of stress but also growth for men. Using data from our interviews with men subsequent to attending a prenatal ultrasound appointment with their pregnant partners, we will demonstrate that early adverse events in the expectant father’s own development, as well as other traumatic events, shape men’s ideas about what they will need to become good fathers themselves. We will make recommendations for how expectant fathers could be better served to address their needs and improve parenting and partnering outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 229.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 299.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alio, A. P., Kornosky, J. L., Mbah, A. K., Marty, P. J., & Salihu, H. M. (2010). The impact of paternal involvement on feto-infant morbidity among Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14(5), 735–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alio, A. P., Mbah, A. K., Kornosky, J. L., Wathington, D., Marty, P. J., & Salihu, H. M. (2011). Assessing the impact of paternal involvement on racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality rates. Journal of community health, 36(1), 63–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arora, S., McJunkin, C., Wehrer, J., & Kuhn, P. (2000). Major factors influencing breastfeeding rates: Mother’s perception of father’s attitude and milk supply. Pediatrics, 106(5), e67–e67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., Conger, R., & Capaldi, D. M. (2009). The intergenerational transmission of parenting: Introduction to the special section. Developmental Psychology, 45, 1201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrows, P. (2004). Fathers and families: Locating the ghost in the nursery. Infant Mental Health Journal: Official Publication of The World Association for Infant Mental Health 25(5), 408–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benoit, D., Parker, K., & Zeanah, C. H. (1997). Mothers’ representations of their infants assessed prenatally: Stability and association with infants’ attachment classifications. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 307–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloch, J. R., Webb, D. A., Mathews, L., Dennis, E. F., Bennett, I. M., & Culhane, J. F. (2010). Beyond marital status: The quality of the mother–father relationship and its influence on reproductive health behaviors and outcomes among unmarried low income pregnant women. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14(5), 726–734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boukydis, C. F. Z., Treadwell, M. C., Delaney-Black, V., Boyes, K., King, M., Robinson, T., et al. (2006). Women’s responses to ultrasound examinations during routine screens in an obstetric clinic. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, 25, 721–728.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackburn, C. M., Bonas, S., Spencer, N. J., Coe, C. J., Dolan, A., & Moy, R. (2005). Parental smoking and passive smoking in infants: fathers matter too. Health Education Research, 20(2), 185–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bottorff, J. L., Oliffe, J., Kalaw, C., Carey, J., & Mroz, L. (2006). Men’s constructions of smoking in the context of women’s tobacco reduction during pregnancy and postpartum. Social Science & Medicine, 62(12), 3096–3108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coates, S. (2012). The child as traumatic trigger: Commentary on paper by Laurel Moldawsky Silber. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 22(1), 123–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Condon, J. T., & Corkindale, C. J. (1997). The correlates of antenatal attachment in pregnant women. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 70, 359–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera, N. J., Fagan, J., & Farrie, D. (2008). Explaining the long reach of fathers’ prenatal involvement on later paternal engagement. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70(5), 1094–1107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dedoose. (2019). Version 8.2, web application for managing, analyzing, and presenting qualitative and mixed method research data. Los Angeles, CA: SocioCultural Research Consultants, LLC. https://www.dedoose.com

    Google Scholar 

  • Flouri, E., & Buchanan, A. (2003). What predicts fathers’ involvement with their children? A prospective study of intact families. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 21(1), 81–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lange, B. C. L., Callinan, L. S., & Smith, M. V. (2019). Adverse childhood experiences and their relation to parenting stress, and parenting practices. Community Mental Health Journal, 55(4), 651–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leidy, M. S., Schofield, T. J., & Parke, R. D. (2013). Fathers’ contributions to children’s social development. Handbook of Father Involvement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 2, 151–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S. J., Sanchez, D. T., Grogan-Kaylor, A., Lee, J. Y., & Albuja, A. (2018). Father early engagement behaviors and infant low birth weight. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22(10), 1407–1417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons-Ruth, K., & Block, D. (1996). The disturbed caregiving system: Relations among childhood trauma, maternal caregiving, and infant affect and attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 17(3), 257–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, V., Domoney, J., Aumayer, K., Sethna, V., Iles, J., Hubbard, I., et al. (2015). Intergenerational transmission of parenting: Findings from a UK longitudinal study. European Journal of Public Health, 25(6), 1030–1035.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsiglio, W. (2008). Understanding men’s prenatal experience and the father involvement connection: Assessing baby steps. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70(5), 1108–1113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, L. T., McNamara, M. J., Milot, A. S., Halle, T., & Hair, E. C. (2007). The effects of father involvement during pregnancy on receipt of prenatal care and maternal smoking. Maternal and child health journal, 11(6), 595–602.

    Google Scholar 

  • NVivo qualitative data analysis software; QSR International Pty Ltd. Version 11, 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Leary, J. (2009). Never a simple journey: Pregnancy following perinatal loss. Bereavement Care, 28(2), 12–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, J. H. (2010). Paternal involvement: Revised conceptualization and theoretical linkages with child outcomes. In M. E. Lamb (Ed.), Role of the father in child development (5th ed., pp. 58–93). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkadi, A., Kristiansson, R., Oberklaid, F., & Bremberg, S. (2008). Fathers’ involvement and children’s developmental outcomes: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Acta Paediatrica, 97(2), 153–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siddiqui, A., & Hägglöf, B. (2000). Does maternal prenatal attachment predict postnatal mother-infant interaction? Early Human Development, 59, 13–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steen, M., Downe, S., Bamford, N., & Edozien, L. (2012). Not-patient and not-visitor: A metasynthesis of fathers’ encounters with pregnancy, birth, and maternity care. Midwifery, 28(4), 362–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. London, UK: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, B. J. (2012). The importance of unmarried residential fathers to maternal and child health: the association between prenatal involvement and birth outcomes (Doctoral dissertation).

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, D., & Newburn, M. (2000). Becoming a father: men’s access to information and support about pregnancy, birth and life with a new baby. National Childbirth trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teitler, J. O. (2001). Father involvement, child health and maternal health behavior. Children and Youth Services Review, 23(4–5), 403–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1992). Intergenerational transmission of parenting: A review of studies in nonclinical populations. Developmental Review, 12, 76–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, T. (2018, June). Connecting while expecting: Prenatal ultrasound as a component of parental-fetal bonding. Paper presentation at the 2018 World Congress of the World Association for Infant Mental Health. Rome, Italy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, T., Jones, M., Tolman, R., Lee, S. & Singh, V. (2019, Jan.). Early Service Experiences As a Barrier or Facilitator of Subsequent Service Engagement: An Examination of Father Engagement in Prenatal and Pediatric Care. Paper presentation at the 2019 Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research. San Francisco, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, T. B., Tolman, R. M., Palladino, C. L., Davis, R. N., Romero, V., & Singh, V. (2014). Moving up the ‘magic moment’: Fathers’ experience of prenatal ultrasound. Fathering, 12(1), 18–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, T. B., Tolman, R. M., Singh, V., Davis, M. M., & Davis, R. N. (2017). Expectant fathers’ presence at prenatal ultrasounds: An opportunity for social work engagement. Social Work Research, 41(3), 181–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Richard M. Tolman

  2. School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Tova B. Walsh

Authors
  1. Richard M. Tolman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tova B. Walsh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard M. Tolman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Hiram E. Fitzgerald

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Sachsen, Germany

    Kai von Klitzing

  3. University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Natasha J. Cabrera

  4. Graduate Program in Educational Psychology, Centro Universitário FIEO, Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil

    Júlia Scarano de Mendonça

  5. Division of Mental Health, Akershus University Hospital HF, Lørenskog, Norway

    Thomas Skjøthaug

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Tolman, R.M., Walsh, T.B. (2020). Ghosts in the Ultrasound: Expectant Fathers’ Experience of Trauma. In: Fitzgerald, H.E., von Klitzing, K., Cabrera, N.J., Scarano de Mendonça, J., Skjøthaug, T. (eds) Handbook of Fathers and Child Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51027-5_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation