ABSTRACT
A relatively large literature exploring the relationship between the marital relationship and parenthood. In 1957, E. E. LeMasters published his study of the decline in marital satisfaction associated with the transition to parenthood, and this was followed by a number of other studies. The importance of prenatal marital structure and/or marital satisfaction as a predictor of the adaptation to parenthood is underscored. The marital dyad is understood as undergoing normative stress and strain in the transition to parenthood brought about by shifts in roles, patterns, and intensity of needs. Marital satisfaction declined from pregnancy through 18 months postpartum, and the decline was most dramatic from pregnancy to six months postpartum for wives and from six to 18 months postpartum for husbands. The authors offer a useful distinction regarding the issue of whether the period of pregnancy and early parenthood is a crisis.
