Table 4.

Synthesized finding 3: Negative feelings and fears

Findings	Categories	Synthesized findings
The birth [C] Fatherhood [C] Feeling of insufficiency and inadequacy [C] Expectations [U] A different mission and challenge [C] Challenges in pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting as husbands/partners [C]	Not knowing what to expect and fear of the unknown	Negative feelings and fears: Expectant and new fathers experienced a range of fears and often did not know what to expect from the processes involved during the transition to fatherhood. This resulted in fathers feeling helpless, pushed out of the relationship and struggling to find a role. Men experienced specific fears relating to their partner's labor and the birthing process. They often worried about the wellbeing of their partner and baby throughout the perinatal period.
Deference and support: a moral response [C] Plugging away at the role-making of involved fatherhood [U] Fatherhood – the early days: helplessness [U] Feelings of exclusion [C]	Feelings of helplessness
Excitement thwarted by partner's reticence [C] The focus shifting from us to him [U] Feeling left/pushed out [U] Struggling to find a role [U] Apprehension about criticism [C] Helping out or “full involvement”? Fairness, equity and decision making [U]	Pushed out of the relationship and struggling to find a role
Aspects of the labor and birth [U] “Being there”: men's experiences of the labor and birth – cesarean [U]	Fears relating to labor and birth
Childbirth perceived as a shared experience and being there [C] Realizing oneself as a husband [C] Finding the wife's pregnancy and delivery for the first time to be an impressive experience [C] Ending their wives’ discomfort [C] The health status of his wife and fetus [C] The wonder of fetal movement [C] Imagining life and needs with a baby: fantasies and fears [C] Making active efforts in preparation for childbirth in a foreign country [C]	Concerns about their partner's and baby's wellbeing

U, unequivocal; C, credible