Background: Traditionally, a father's role in child care has been indirect because of his re sponsibility as financial provider. Today, both men and women are questioning this tradition and expressing support for equality starting with infant care. Yet little is known about how fathers' perceptions of infants compared to mothers' perceptions. It is generally understood that perception of parents may affect children's cognitive, social, and physical development .Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe fathers' and mothers' perceptions of their newborns to identify infants who may be at risk for future psychological and physical health problems.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive research was conducted in central and southern part of Japan in 1998. A convenience sample of 107 father and mother couples completed the 5 item Modified Broussard Neonatal Perception Inventory (MBNPI) during the hospital stay following parturition and again at 1 month post partum .Results: From the proportions of parents' perceptions of their infants as not better than av erage, it was considered that the babies of 21% fathers and 28% mothers may be at risk; Fur thermore, the 9% of infants who were perceived negatively by both mother and father may be at high risk for developmental deviations. Comparing fathers' and mothers' perceptions, there were no statistically significant differences by quantitative analysis .Conclusions: The MBNPI is a simple effective tool for early intervention for fathers and mothers at risk. Valid assessment of infants at risk is foundational for effective and compassionate nursing interventions.