立ち会い分娩をした夫の体験

目的：本研究では，立ち会い分娩をした夫の体験を明らかにすることを目的とする．
方法：本研究に同意の得られた，初産婦の夫１１名を対象として，妻の産褥入院期間中に，インタビューガイドに基づき，入院から分娩後２時間までの体験についてインタビューを行い，質的記述的に分析した．
結果：立ち会い分娩における夫の体験として，１７１のエピソード，４４のコード，１６のサブカテゴリーが抽出され，【わが子を迎える喜びと感動が湧く】，【無力な自分にとにかくできることを手探りでやってみる】，【母親となる妻へ称賛の念を抱く】，【父親としての意識が芽生える】，【医療者にさまざまな感情を抱きながら，任せる】，【自分なりに分娩の様相を読み取ろうとする】の６つのカテゴリーが抽出された．
結論：夫は，わが子を迎える喜びと感動が湧く中で，自分の無力さを感じながら，それでも自分にできることを手探りでやろうとしている様子が伺えた．医療者には，苦しむ妻を前にして，自分の辛さや不安を表出することなく，ひたすら立ち会い続けている夫の心情を酌み取り，夫にとってもよい分娩体験となるような関わりが求められる．

Objectives：To describe the experiences of husbands who attended their wives’ childbirth.
Methods：Qualitative and descriptive analysis of narratives from eleven husbands of primipara women who consented to this study. A questionnaire was used as guide for participants based on the Guidelines for Interview Questions.
Results：Six thematic categories were revealed from the narratives of husbands describing their experiences when they attended their wives’ childbirth. These are : ‘feeling pleasure and excitement to have my own baby’, ‘trying to do what I can do through trial and error although there may be little I can do’, ‘feeling respect for my wife who is becoming a mother’, ‘having a sense of being a father’, ‘trusting in healthcare professionals and having various feelings towards them’, and ‘trying to understand what childbirth is in my own way’.
Conclusion：Although the husbands felt their helplessness, in this situation, they also felt the excitement of having their own baby- they were hopeful and tried to do what they could do through trial and error. Healthcare workers need to understand the husbands’ experiences while attending their wives’ childbirth, not showing their own hardships and anxiety in front of their wives who were experiencing the joys and pain of childbirth, and to help them to make the childbirth a wonderful experience for them and for their wives as well.