When and how long? Anxiety and uncertainty in expectant fathers’ negotiation of paternity leave from work in the UK

Building upon broader conceptions of family-as-practice, geographers have convincingly situated pregnancy and parenthood as implicitly spatial experiences, with the transition to parenthood being associated with an array of spaces/places, and changes to spatial routines. Following the arrival of a child, parents typically take a portion of leave from work, the amount of which generally differs between mothers and fathers. Whilst the importance, and value, of fathers’ leave-taking has been increasingly argued in both policy and research, it is still generally expected that mothers will need, and take, more time away from work. Indeed, UK statutory maternity-leave includes 26-weeks ‘ordinary leave’, compared to just 2-weeks paternity (though with possibilities for further leave), reflecting pervasive societal expectations of mother-caregiver/father-breadwinner gendered parenting roles. Drawing upon 29 periodic, in-depth interviews with nine expectant fathers (most living in England), this paper examines the fractious tensions participants felt between leave-taking and being a ‘good worker’. It illuminates their anxieties and uncertainties, even guilt, about taking leave from work, developing understanding of the emotional geographies embroiled in fathers’ navigation of workplaces and care commitments during pregnancy and early parenthood. Thus, it furthers geographic research on fathering, as well as broader (feminist) debates around flexible working to support fathers’ more equitable contribution to the labour/demands of early parenthood.