Introduction:
The father’s role during perinatal period has been studied more systematically during the last decades. Fathers seem to participate more actively both prenatally and antenatally, as long as during labor and delivery, than before. However, despite their desire, fathers often feel that the perinatal care experts do not pay much attention to their role and needs. Feeling excluded may lead to lesser paternal involvement and less paternal satisfaction as well. Furthermore, limited caution to father’s needs by the experts may result in undiagnosed paternal mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression etc. It is very important for fathers to feel included and secured in order to be more enabled to express their feelings and needs during perinatal period. In Greece, NGO Fainareti has organised father groups meetings which are coordinated by a mental health expert and a midwife.

Material and Methods:
Fainareti has been running father group meetings since February 2018. Their purpose is to create a safe place for the fathers-to-be, where they can feel free to talk about their worries around perinatal period. Qualitative data were collected through observations of the groups by the experts who coordinated them. The observations are about the questions fathers addressed to the experts regarding their new role as fathers, the thoughts, feelings and concerns they express to each other and the dynamics of each group generally.

Results:
Father group meetings in Fainareti consist of 3 meetings. The first meeting takes place postnatally, around 1 month before of the probable date of delivery, the second and the third meeting takes place around 3 and 6 months after the birth of the child, respectively. It seems that the fathers who participate in these groups tend to be more prepared for their new role as fathers, both practically and psychologically.

Conclusions:
It is crucial for the fathers, their wives and the experts to give more attention to father’s needs during perinatal period. Fathers can more easily express how they feel when they are included. Their narratives and their personal experiences are important to be considered by the perinatal care experts. Father group meetings in Fainareti have been organised to actively hear the fathers needs and perspectives.