Abstract
BACKGROUND: Most partners attend the birth of their infant. Partners can be psychologically impacted by the birth they witness. It is important to understand what may contribute to this experience being appraised as negative, so that services can develop support for partners. This systematic review aimed to explore partners’ reported negative experiences of childbirth. The objective was to synthesise qualitative literature on aspects of experience that contributed to partners appraising childbirth as negative. ENTREQ framework for reporting the synthesis of qualitative health research was used to report findings. METHODS: A qualitative meta-synthesis design was adopted. Searches were conducted using the databases PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, EMCare, and Web of Science using search terms relating to partners and childbirth experiences. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) was used to assess the quality of the included studies. RESULTS: Sixteen studies were included in the review. Themes generated from the meta-synthesis were ‘high negative emotionality during the birth’, ‘unprepared/not going as expected’, ‘communication from healthcare professionals’, ‘exclusion’, ‘clarity of role’, and ‘perceived low control’. CONCLUSIONS: Partners experienced intense negative emotions, particularly when births did not go as expected, and these feelings were amplified by poor communication, exclusion, and uncertainty about their role. Feeling unprepared, both practically and emotionally, and perceiving a lack of control were central contributors to negative experiences. Partners’ experiences were shaped not only by the birth itself but also by the quality of healthcare interactions and the clarity of their own role, with cultural context further influencing expectations and emotional responses. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-026-08889-6.