title: Assessing birth experience in fathers as an important aspect of clinical obstetrics: how applicable is Salmon's Item List for men?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  validated questionnaire assessment of fathers' experiences during childbirth is lacking in routine clinical practice. Salmon's Item List is a short, validated method used for the assessment of birth experience in mothers in both English- and German-speaking communities. With little to no validated data available for fathers, this pilot study aimed to assess the applicability of the German version of Salmon's Item List, including a multidimensional birth experience concept, in fathers.
  
  
  METHODS
  longitudinal study. Data were collected by questionnaires.
  
  
  METHODS
  University hospital in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  the birth experiences of 102 fathers were assessed four to six weeks post partum using the German version of Salmon's Item List.
  
  
  METHODS
  construct validity testing with exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed to identify the dimensions of childbirth experiences. Internal consistency was also analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  factor analysis yielded a four-factor solution comprising 17 items that accounted for 54.5% of the variance. The main domain was 'fulfilment', and the secondary domains were 'emotional distress', 'physical discomfort' and 'emotional adaption'. For fulfilment, Cronbach's α met conventional reliability standards (0.87).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Salmon's Item List is an appropriate instrument to assess birth experience in fathers in terms of fulfilment. Larger samples need to be examined in order to prove the stability of the factor structure before this can be extended to routine clinical assessment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  a reduced version of Salmon's Item List may be useful as a screening tool for general assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 440, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: Stephanie.Gawlik@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gawlik
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Mitho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 440, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 440, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Aimée
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dienes
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, München, Germany.
authors.forename: Corinna
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011181:Postnatal Care / Q000592:standards*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Birth experience; Evaluation; Fathers; Questionnaire