The transition to parenthood is extremely difficult for both mothers and fathers, yet education and support during this most significant life transition emphasize getting through labor and birth, rather than preparing couples for the major life changes accompanying parenthood. Half of new parent couples experience moderate to severe declines in marital satisfaction with one-third to one-half of couples experiencing as much distress as couples already in therapy for marital difficulties. One-third or more of both mothers and fathers experience significant depression as they become parents, which negatively impacts their own well being, creates conflict in their couple relationship, and leads to less effective parenting. The transition to parenthood is a major life change involving stress, enactment of new roles, renegotiation of existing relationships, and significant alteration in customary life patterns. Such critical developmental transitions call for preventive intervention to minimize distress and promote optimal adaptation.
The specific aims of this study are to (1) Test the effectiveness of the Becoming Parents Program (a theoretically and empirically based investigator developed intervention for married couples becoming parents for the first time which teaches essential knowledge and skills for taking care of the couple relationship, taking care of self, relating to the baby, and dealing with the many ways becoming parents impacts life ) on individual (symptoms of depression and stress; perceived health; risk behaviors; health practices; health resource utilization) and couple (marital satisfaction and stability) well-being and the parent- infant relationship over the first two years of parenthood with measurement during pregnancy and at six months, one year, and two years postbirth, (2) To evaluate the cost of the Becoming Parents Program, (3) To describe changes in individual and couple well- being over time, viewing the transition to parenthood from a developmental perspective using data from the control group, and (4) To examine the relationships among study variables. Approximately 500 married couples expecting the birth of a first child will be recruited into the study and randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. Generalized estimating equations controlling for baseline values during pregnancy will be the primary means of testing study hypotheses. The Becoming Parents Program is a unique, innovative, couple-focused intervention which in preliminary studies shows promise as a transition to parenthood intervention to enhance couple functioning and well-being, individual well-being, and parent- infant interaction over the early years of parenthood.
