Psychological tasks for women and men in the postpartum

Abstract

Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of the transition to parenthood, four psychological tasks for women and men in the post-partum were identified: recovery from and making sense of childbirth, feelings about/relations with child, feelings about self, and changing relationships. These were examined using a mix of questionnaires and interviews. Women's responses and ways of coping with these four tasks indicated a greater variety and complexity of feelings and experiences (both positive and negative) than might be expected given the predominant clinical and research interest in depression inthe post-partum. In many respects women's feelings and experiences were similar to those of their male partners, but there were also differences, pointing to the ways in which experiences of the post-partum are gendered. These differences are related to social constructions of motherhood and fatherhood, and, in spite of notions of equity and sharing of child care in the post-partum, to the different impact of parenting on men and women's lives. Measures of the couple relationship indicate satisfactions with the parental role but also tensions and reduced levels of satisfaction.