Quality of couple relationship among first-time mothers and partners, during pregnancy and the first six months of parenthood

“In order to compare differences between first-time mothers’ and partners’ perceived couple relationship quality, social support and Sense of Coherence at Q1, Q2 and Q3; the Kruskal-Wallis equality of populations rank test was carried out [36].”

“The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to assess perceived social support [32] at Q1, Q2 and Q3.”

“A validation study on pregnant women has been carried out previously [33].”

“Each item is scored on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7 [16,18].”

“Transition to parenthood has been described as one of the most radical changes that takes place in most people’s lives [1].”

“Each item is scored on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7 [16,18].”

“Previous research [5–8], including a meta-analysis [9], have found that couple relationship quality is significantly lower after the transition to parenthood.”

“To evaluate which were the strongest associated factors with firsttime mothers’ and partners’ perceived quality of couple relationship six months after birth, multiple linear regression analyses were used [37].”

“The decline in relationship quality has been explained through different factors, such as: the changing roles from partners to parents; the increase in family stress [10] and marital conflict; less positive spousal interaction and a demanding task to combine childcare, household and workplace [11,12].”

“This may be important for the way parents perceive and cope with the challenges that come with childbirth and parenthood [39].”

“However, some parental couples report high relationship quality during the transition to parenthood [13,14].”

“Hence professional support during pregnancy has earlier been shown to: include partners in preparations for parenthood [40]; facilitate first-time mothers’ and partners’ couple relationship [41–43]; increase parental knowledge and entail better preparation for childbirth [40,44] and infant care [45].”

“family, friends and significant others) [24–26] and has been shown to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress among mothers during pregnancy and transition to motherhood [25,27].”

“A validation study on SOC-13 used on pregnant women has been carried out earlier [30] and the Swedish version has been used for a long time [31] (Table 1).”

“family, friends and significant others) [24–26] and has been shown to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress among mothers during pregnancy and transition to motherhood [25,27].”

“Sense of Coherence has also been explained as a continuously changing process throughout life [19].”

“Hence professional support during pregnancy has earlier been shown to: include partners in preparations for parenthood [40]; facilitate first-time mothers’ and partners’ couple relationship [41–43]; increase parental knowledge and entail better preparation for childbirth [40,44] and infant care [45].”

“On the other hand, social support has also been suggested as an essential component for strengthening positive outcomes in families experiencing transition to parenthood [23], as well as to strengthen couple relationship among parents [28].”

“The Swedish version of MSPSS is validated among women with hirsutism and nursing students [34] (Table 1).”

“The decline in relationship quality has been explained through different factors, such as: the changing roles from partners to parents; the increase in family stress [10] and marital conflict; less positive spousal interaction and a demanding task to combine childcare, household and workplace [11,12].”

“Fathers who take an active role during birth seem to better support the mother [46] and experience their first meeting with their baby more positively [47].”

“Professionals could also facilitate social connections for the parents, via antenatal education classes for example [41,42,49].”

“Hence professional support during pregnancy has earlier been shown to: include partners in preparations for parenthood [40]; facilitate first-time mothers’ and partners’ couple relationship [41–43]; increase parental knowledge and entail better preparation for childbirth [40,44] and infant care [45].”

“Fathers who take an active role during birth seem to better support the mother [46] and experience their first meeting with their baby more positively [47].”

“In addition, social support has been described as an essential component for strengthening positive outcomes in families experiencing transitional life events, such as childbearing and child rearing [22,23].”

“This is in line with earlier research [8,20,29,38].”

“A validation study on SOC-13 used on pregnant women has been carried out earlier [30] and the Swedish version has been used for a long time [31] (Table 1).”

“This is in line with earlier research [8,20,29,38].”

“Such support has also been shown to strengthen first-time mothers’ relationship with partner and contribute to feelings of calmness and security about childbirth and parenting [28].”

“This is in line with earlier research [8,20,29,38].”

“Even though parenthood can be an opportunity for growth for the parents, it can also be experienced as stressful [3,4].”

“The transition experienced by couples from partners to parents usually requires coping strategies [15] and the parental couples’ ability to meet these challenges may be connected to their couple relationship quality.”

“Professionals could also facilitate social connections for the parents, via antenatal education classes for example [41,42,49].”

“lesbian partner) who are being recognized by professionals in midwifery care, feel appreciated for their qualities [48].”

“It may be the case that partners’ Sense of Coherence plays a greater role when the baby grows and becomes more independent of the mother [21,38].”

“The transition involves both physiological, psychological and social adjustments for the parental couple [2].”

“To assess quality of couple relationship at Q1, Q2 and Q3 QDR36 was used [29], which consists of 36 items forming a Likert scale from 1 to 6.”

“Even though parenthood can be an opportunity for growth for the parents, it can also be experienced as stressful [3,4].”

“Professionals could also facilitate social connections for the parents, via antenatal education classes for example [41,42,49].”

“The decline in relationship quality has been explained through different factors, such as: the changing roles from partners to parents; the increase in family stress [10] and marital conflict; less positive spousal interaction and a demanding task to combine childcare, household and workplace [11,12].”

“(18), who described how a sense of coherence can strengthen the quality of couple relations, which can affect the parents’ ability to handle stressful situations and challenges in life.”

“Higher perceived social support during pregnancy has also been shown to enhance the perceived quality of parental relationships 6 months after birth (Bäckström et al., 2018), which implies that professional support during pregnancy must be provided in various ways in order to meet both universal…”

“Parents’ emotional and physical well-being have an influence on the transition to parenthood,(22) and partners who perceive higher social support during pregnancy also perceive a higher quality of couple relationship, six months after childbirth.(9) This indicates that partners are in need of a social network with tie…”

“Research has shown that the quality of parental relationships decreases after the birth of their first child, which indicates that many new parents experience parenthood as a sensitive period in their lives (Bäckström et al., 2018).”

“The QDR36 decreases between pregnancy until 6 months after birth, and a higher amount of social support is associated with a higher QDR36 in first-time mothers and partners (Bäckström et al., 2018).”

“Several international studies show positive effects on the health of the whole family when support is not only given to the mothers, but also to the fathers in the transition to being a parent (Sarkadi et al., 2008; Plantin et al., 2011; Coleman and Ahmann, 2016; Bäckström et al., 2018).”

“*ereafter, the measures for the QDR36 and SOC decreased significantly when the child had reached six months of age [23].”

“In this study, we examined how the frequency of leisure activities change during the transition to parenthood, a time of physiological, psychological, and social change (Bäckström et al., 2018; Klobučar, 2016).”

“The result that both IG and CG parents reported a decrease in perceived social support is in line with the results from a previous longitudinal cohort study, which also reveals that social support is associated with a higher quality of parental couples’ relationships 6 months after birth (9).”

“Independent of IPV experience, childbearing imposes a risk of decreased partner relationship quality [47].”

“Furthermore, parents’ perceived quality of the couple relationship has previously been shown to be associated with their perceived social support (37).”

“Several studies (B€ackstr€om, K areholt, Thorstensson, Gols€ater & M artensson, 2018; Can ario & Figueiredo, 2016; Doss, Rhoades, Stanley & Markman, 2009; Lawrence, Rothman, Cobb, Rothman & Bradbury, 2008; Ngai & Ngu, 2016; Shapiro, Gottman & Carr ere, 2000), as well as two meta-analyses (Mitnick,…”

“Though there are studies available on the unique developmental needs and parenting challenges of infants (Bäckström et al., 2018; Corkin et al., 2018; Slomian et al., 2017), evidences that focussed on parental experiences with toddlers were scarce.”

“…(most notably symptoms of anxiety and depression) during pregnancy and after childbirth (e.g., Morse et al., 2000; Parfitt & Ayers, 2014; Vismara et al., 2016) and a decline in relationship satisfaction (e.g., Bäckström et al., 2018; Don & Mickelson, 2014; Doss et al., 2009; Lawrence et al., 2008).”

“Previous research has shown that parents should be supported by healthcare professionals in their communication during pregnancy [35] and that there is a need to focus more on the social and emotional changes associated with the transition to par-enthood [36].”

“…research studies show that parenting stress is consistently and strongly associated with decreased marital satisfaction (Doss & Rhoades, 2017; Bäckström et al., 2018; Qian et al., 2021; Dong et al., 2022(a); Dong et al., 2022(b); Zhong & Xu, 2024), indicating that parenting dynamics play an…”

“32,33 Another study even showed the marital dissatisfaction continues up to the second year postpartum.”

“In line with previous studies [8,13], current results showed that how parents perceive their economy is associated with their higher QDR36.”

“It is part of the longitudinal cohort The Study of Parental Support, which evaluates first-time mothers’ and partners’ perceptions of professional parental support during childbearing [7, 17, 21, 27, 31].”

“The presence of children in the marital relationship is associated with marital satisfaction, but an increase in the number of children can lead to marital problems [71, 74, 75].”

“Bestalde, Bäckström eta laguntzaileek (31) diotenez, guraso izatea pertsona askok euren bizitzetan jasaten duten aldaketarik bortitzena da.”