ABSTRACT
The arrival of their first born is often an unimaginable shock for a couple. As well as delight and pleasure, there is the anxiety of caring for this new baby, sheer exhaustion and loss of time for each individual, let alone for the two as a couple. Many new parents wearily feel that they have suddenly become serfs to the demands of their new baby, who allows them to sleep–or not. S. Freud emphasized the second part of the Oedipus story. When a couple become parents and that twosome which had seemed to work so well suddenly becomes a three, Oedipal feelings of exclusion and jealousy are poignantly stirred up. Old resentments and Oedipal competition to be the best loved by the baby can interfere with parents supporting each other in the tough task of parenting. Separating is easier for the adolescent leaving–and hard for the parents who are left behind.
