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Abstract
Background: Little is known about the contribution of other significant relationships beyond the partnership for parental adjustment and care in parents who conceived through Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). Objective: This study examined the role of perceived network support on parenting stress and investment in the child in parents who conceived spontaneously or through ART, during their transition to parenthood. Methods: Thirty‐five couples who conceived through ART and 31 couples who conceived spontaneously completed self‐report questionnaires regarding perceived emotional and instrumental support from their social network members (i.e. nuclear and extended family members and friends) during pregnancy (twenty‐fourth week) and regarding parenting stress and investment in the child four months after the partum. Results: Regardless of method‐of‐conception, instrumental support from the nuclear family was positively associated with maternal investment in the child and emotional and instrumental support from the extended family were positively associated with paternal stress while support from friends was negatively associated with it. Conclusion: Results suggest that parents who conceive through ART and spontaneously are alike in that their adjustment to parenthood and the quality of the care they provide to their children depends on perceived support from nuclear and extended family and friends.