title: Out of their element: fathers of children who are "not the same".
abstract: The purpose of this research was to ascertain the meaning of fathering for fathers of children with congenital anomalies. The human becoming theory was the theoretical perspective for this descriptive-exploratory study. Findings showed that fathering for these participants is a desire to grasp the situation, mingled with disturbing feelings, while facing one's limits and gives rise to comforting views. Comfortable-uncomfortable ways of being with others emerge as fathering shifts one from the familiar to the unfamiliar, surfacing the joy-sorrow of the always-changing "now" and the unpredictable "not yet." Implications for further research and practice are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College of the City University of New York, NY 10010-2590, USA.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Braddick
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D005195:Family Relations; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010371:Pediatric Nursing