Birth experience of fathers participating in the birth labor

Aim: The aim of this research is determine the birth experiences of fathers who participated in the birth of their spouses. Material and Method: The design of this research is qualitative and descriptive, and a phenomenological approach was used.The sample of the study consisted of 12 fathers who received prenatal education at the Istanbul Birth Academy, were with their spouses during labor and birth, had not passed three years after the birth experience, and were reached by criterion sampling method."Individual Identification Form" and "Semi-Structured Interview Form" were used as data collection tools.Research data were collected through online in-depth interviews between January and February 2021.Content analysis of the research data was made using the MAXQDA program.Ethical approval of the study was obtained from the MCBÜ Faculty of Medicine Health Sciences Ethics Committee with the decision dated 30.12.2020 and numbered E-20478486-050.04.04-5655. Results: When the research data were analyzed, four main themes were determined as "prenatal preparation", "fathers' birth support", "emotions experienced during the birth process" and "fathers' views on birth". Conclusion: The information sources of fathers about participation in childbirth are prenatal education, they attend birth because they want to support their spouses, fathers provide more psychological support to their spouses at birth, they experience many opposite emotions during the birth process, they describe birth as "incredible", midwife support at birth is important for birth experience, and it was found that the birth experience of the fathers was positive. Key words: Birth, Birth experience, Fathers experience.