THURSDAY, Aug. 31, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Most fathers experience a decline in relationship satisfaction that may last for years after the child is born, recent research shows.
“An excellent couple relationship throughout the transition to parenthood is essential for fogeys’ mental health, involvement in parenting and bonding, in addition to child development,” said lead writer Judith Mack, a research associate on the Technical University of Dresden in Germany.
“Within the last a long time, nevertheless, fathers have been neglected in research, regardless that they oftentimes play an equally vital role within the family system as moms. It’s subsequently crucial to make clear their experiences,” she said.
For the study, published on Aug. 30 in PLOS ONE, the European researchers reviewed responses from German parents to a survey that began in 2017. It included 500 first-time fathers and 106 who were expecting their second child. They were asked about relationship satisfaction with their partners two months before the birth, after which at eight weeks, 14 months and two years after delivery.
Regardless of whether a toddler was Dad’s first or second, fathers were less satisfied with their relationship after the birth, the study found.
First-timers were, nevertheless, more satisfied with their relationship before their baby’s birth in comparison with second-time dads. At eight weeks after birth, they still reported higher satisfaction than second-time dads.
But first-time dads’ had a steeper decline in relationship satisfaction after arrival of the child and as much as 14 months after the birth.
By 14 months, second-time fathers generally reported a rise in relationship satisfaction and it continued through the two-year check-in.
Aspects like age and education had no significant link to relationship satisfaction, but duration of the couple’s relationship did. Those that were together longer before having children generally reported an initial dip in relationship satisfaction after having a baby.
Sheehan Fisher, a psychologist and associate professor at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, said the lower level of satisfaction may be because of societal expectations.
“Partially due to among the gender divide and norms … that we’re working against but still exist, fathers will not be at all times prepared for realization of how much their life will change and adjust, and in addition tips on how to sustain among the things of value of their relationship with their partner,” he said.
That, Fisher added, requires “more equity and taking up personal responsibility in the house, so as to be certain that that there’s space for retaining, for instance, their marital or inter-parental relationship.”
Dr. Scott Krakower, a toddler psychiatrist at Northwell Health, said financial stress could also play a component within the satisfaction decline.
“I believe that in a variety of ways a variety of men worry quite a bit about supporting the family, funds of the family, anxieties related to having the kids,” he said.
Krakower said he hoped the findings would result in more medical check-ins for brand spanking new fathers.
“I’m biased because I’m a dad, but I do think that men often get missed,” Krakower said. “Even pediatricians, we should always look more into how the boys are interacting with their children, their overall well-being and support, and possibly in the long run … there can be more screening towards fathers for mental illness and coping with the child.”
Becoming a parent is, he said, “an enormous, life-changing event for each the girl and the person.”
As for what couples can do to arrange for potentially rocky times ahead, Mack said awareness and intentionality in the connection are key — especially remembering that the difficult times likely won’t last endlessly.
“There could also be a drop in relationship satisfaction after the birth, but in addition a possible rebound in the long term,” she noted.
The couple relationship must be nurtured and never taken without any consideration, Mack said.
“Try to take a position among the scarce time you will have left in your partnership,” she advised. “Constructive communication and accepting help from outside the connection will be supportive.
“Nonetheless, it can be crucial to do not forget that relationship satisfaction alone doesn’t determine an individual’s overall life satisfaction — in any case, this is just one aspect of it,” Mack noted. “It’s subsequently possible that although relationship satisfaction decreases throughout the transition to parenthood, the sense of getting found meaning in life increases through the birth and care of 1’s own child.”
Mack, Fisher and Krakower also pointed to the necessity for more government and company resources reminiscent of paternity leave, and called on science to take a more in-depth take a look at the role fathers play in children’s lives.
More information
The National Fatherhood Initiative has more on fatherhood.
SOURCES: Sheehan Fisher, PhD, associate professor, psychiatry and behavioral sciences Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago; Scott Krakower, DO, attending pediatric psychiatrist, Northwell Health, Glen Oaks, N.Y.; Judith Mack, MSc, research associate, faculty of medication, Technical University of Dresden, Germany; PLOS ONE, Aug. 30, 2023