Investigation of the Level of Attachment of Fathers to the Fetus and Factors Affecting Such Attachment in the Prenatal Period; [Prenatal Dönemde Babaların Fetüse Bağlanma Düzeyi ve Bu Bağlanmayı Etkileyen Faktörler]

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the level of attachment of fathers to the fetus and the factors affecting such attachment in the prenatal period. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on 463 fathers whose spouses were 24–38 weeks pregnant in the obstetrics outpatient clinic of the University Research and Practice Hospital Gynecology Department between December 2019 and April 2020. The “Information Form” and “Intrauterine Father Attachment Scale” (IFAS) were used as data collection tools for this study. Results: In this study, the total score of Intrauterine Father Attachment Scale was found to be 62.22 ± 10.66 (min = 34, max = 87). The mean Intrauterine Father Attachment Scale scores of the fathers who had a good income level had a less marriage period, had less children, had a high educational level, who want to have more children, and whose spouse’s pregnancy was not risky were found to be higher than those of the fathers who did not (p >.05). Furthermore, of the fathers those who were previously knowledgeable about baby care and were experienced in baby care thought that both of the parents should be responsible for the care of the baby, perceived the support given by his family as sufficient, thought that marriage means happiness, wanted to attend their wives’ childbirth in the delivery room, wanted to attend pregnancy schools, and thought that the social relations affect the baby positively obtained higher scores from the IFAS (p >.05). Conclusion: Regression results have shown that getting information about baby care, who is mostly responsible for a baby’s care, educational status, and status of wanting to join pregnant schools have a significant impact on Intrauterine Father Attachment Scale scores.