The Transition to Parenthood

Reveals the stunning effects of a new child on a marriage, discussing how a couple can tell if their marriage is at risk, how they can change a destructive course, what creates friction, and what qualities in a couple cause problems. Tour.

For seven years in the 1980s, Belsky, professor of human development at Penn State University, studied the impact of new parenthood on 250 couples from about three months before birth to the child's third birthday. Aided by freelance writer Kelly, Belsky weaves extended case studies of three couples into his description of the changes brought about by the arrival of a baby; he examines the parents' relationship in six particular arenas: self, gender ideology, emotionality, conflict management, communication and expectations. Also studied is the effect of new parenthood as experienced by those falling into three personality types: traditional, transitional and egalitarian. The authors find that the challenge of changing from couple to parents is made most smoothly by pairings of like types. Extensively researched and engagingly offered, the information in this book will be welcomed by family and marriage counselors and those whose future--or present--includes a first baby. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Penn State psychology professor Belsky and writer Kelly team up to produce a lively and realistic appraisal of the crucible of first-time parenthood. Studying 250 married couples in central Pennsylvania over a seven-year period, Belsky concludes that the first year of parenthood is the most stressful, as mothers and fathers grapple with everything from changing work schedules to going without sex and sleep. Belsky's findings--among them, that one out of every two marriages declines after an infant's arrival and that career women are particularly vulnerable to marital unrest after childbirth-- will surprise some readers, particularly those who romanticize parenthood. Much of Belksy's study centers on interviews with three young couples--Ron and Sue Akers, Jennifer and Calvin Renselear, and Lem and Tina Carlson--as they move from the gladness of late pregnancy to the madness of caring for a new baby. All the couples are still together seven years later, but only the Akerses appear to have grown closer through parenthood. Although focusing more on parenthood's agony than its ecstasy, this should nevertheless provide food for thought for anyone who is expecting. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Belsky and Kelly's book ups the number of only a few works available about the often-stressful effects of a first baby on marriage. As they point out, theirs is not a guidebook but a report: Transition is meant to be read after the fact. Belsky utilizes his brainchild, the Penn State Child and Family Development Project, for much of the information. Most of the book focuses on three couples over the course of seven years, wherein it is decided whether they are Severe Decliners, Moderate Decliners, No Changers, or Improvers. Full of personal details and thoroughly researched, if a bit long and academic, Transition does manage to maintain interest. Jo Peer-Haas