The Development of Couple’s Relationship after Assisted Reproduction Success

Abstract

We investigated the development of the marital and the coparental relationships during the transition to parenthood following assisted reproduction, through a collective longitudinal case study. We conducted a narrative analysis of the interviews answered by three couples during pregnancy, baby’s third month, and baby’s first year. Facing treatment and transition to parenthood may be an imbalanced situation when one of the spouses already has children. Themes of conflict may be displaced. However, the spouses may try to solve it using the same strategies present during their history. We identified evidence of the coparental relationship during the treatment period, and there is a process in which the couple’s marital and coparental relationships became gradually differentiated.