Transition to parenthood by British couples

Abstract

The stressfulness of the arrival of a child was assessed in couples who were studied from early pregnancy to the end of the first postnatal year. Checklists used in previous work were distributed to 128 women about 22 weeks postnatal and indicated that for the majority of women, the arrival of the child did not represent a severely stressful or difficult experience. The marital relationships of most women seemed satisfactory. Women who did report the birth of a child as difficult and as a crisis tended to also report psychological distress in pregnancy and depression of mood in the postnatal period.