Maternal perception of couple relationship before and after the birth of first and second child and twins

• Published date: 01 April 2022
• Author: Martina Smorti,Lucia Ponti,Laura Elvira Prino,Luca Rollè
• Date: 01 April 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12610

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Maternal perception of couple relationship before and

after the birth of first and second child and twins

Martina Smorti

1

|Lucia Ponti

2

|Laura Elvira Prino

3

|Luca Rollè

4

1

Department of Surgical, Medical and

Molecular Pathology and Critical Care

Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

2

Department of Education, Languages,

Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology,

University of Florence, Florence, Italy

3

Department of Philosophy and Educational

Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

4

Department of Psychology, University of

Turin, Turin, Italy

Correspondence

Lucia Ponti, Department of Education,

Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and

Psychology, University of Florence, Via San

Salvi, 12, Pad. 26 –50135, Florence, Italy.

Email: pontilucia@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the

changes in quality of couples’relationships from preg-

nancy to postpartum in pregnant Italian women who con-

ceived spontaneously and to analyze the differences in

transition to motherhood with respect to birth of (a) first

child, (b) second child, and (c) twins.

Background: The transition to motherhood leads to several

changes for parents and can significantly affect a couple’s

adaptation. The couple’s adaptation to parenthood may

depend on whether they are having a first child, a second

child, or twins.

Method: A total of 119 women (61 primiparous women

with single pregnancy, 42 multiparous women with sin-

gle pregnancy, and 16 primiparous women with twin

pregnancy) completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale dur-

ing the third trimester of pregnancy and 3 months after

childbirth. To explore whether the three groups differed

regarding the quality of the couple relationship during

pregnancy, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)

was conducted. Subsequently, a series of mixed 23

ANOVA with Time (pregnancy and postpartum) as the

within factor and Group as the between factor for each

dependent variable linked to the dimensions of the Dyadic

Adjustment Scale was carried out to explore whether the

qualityofthecouplerelationshipdiffered3 monthsafter

childbirth.

Results: Results highlighted that, during pregnancy,

mothers expecting one child (both primiparas and multi-

paras) reported a higher level of couple relationship

quality than did women expecting twins. However,

after childbirth, mothers of twins reported significant

improvements on some qualitative aspects of their cou-

ple relationship (Affective Expression), whereas the

other mothers reported some worsening in the perceived

Received: 15 December 2020Revised: 28 May 2021Accepted: 6 July 2021

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12610

© 2021 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2022;71:737–749.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 737