The father within the pediatric hospitalization context

This exploratory descriptive study with a qualitative approach addresses the father-child relationship upon the pediatric hospitalization. The collected data, by means of semi-structured interview and field diary, at the Pediatrics Unit of a hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil, over the period of December 2002 to April 2003. The data allowed to analyze the experiences and feelings of the father who takes care of his child in the hospital. This father feels himself non-considered by the nursing staff, admired or badly regarded by the mothers of the other children because he is a man, however one that stays with the hospitalized child because he already takes care of him/her at home; and he considers his presence important for the child's recovery. Programs that support and motivate these fathers since the pre-natal period are proposed.