From distance toward proximity: fathers lived experience of caring for their preterm infants.

Open interviews with 13 fathers were performed, using a hermeneutic phenomenological method, to illuminate their lived experience of caring for their preterm infant. Their lived experience was expressed as a process moving from initial feelings of distance toward feelings of proximity. The process was described as a pendulum that was easily disturbed. Feelings of distance included experiences of living beside reality, becoming an outsider, and living with worry. Feelings of proximity included experiences of returning to reality, becoming a family, and facing the future. Illumination of the father-infant interaction adds to the family-centered body of knowledge in neonatal nursing.