Associations between prenatal coparenting behavior and observed coparenting behavior at 9-months postpartum.

Abstract

Coparenting, or the ways partners relate to each other in their roles as parents, is important to child and family functioning. However, it remains unclear whether coparenting begins at or prior to a child’s birth. This study tested whether expectant parents’ behavior in the Prenatal Lausanne Trilogue Play procedure (PLTP), an assessment designed in Switzerland for examining prebirth coparenting behavior, forecasted postnatal observations of coparenting behavior in a sample of first-time parents in the United States. 182 dual-earner couples expecting their first child participated in the PLTP during the third trimester of pregnancy, and at 9 months postpartum, observations of coparenting behavior were obtained from mother-father-infant play interactions. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated significant continuity between expectant parents’ prenatal coparenting behavior and their observed postpartum coparenting behavior one year later. In particular, couples who engaged in higher quality prenatal coparenting behavior demonstrated more supportive and less undermining coparenting behavior at 9 months postpartum, even after controlling for observed prenatal couple behavior and self-reported couple relationship functioning. Thus, this study demonstrated the validity and utility of the PLTP as a window into the development of coparenting, and supported the notion that the coparenting relationship develops prior to the child’s birth and is already distinct from the couple relationship.

Triadic Interactions in Families of Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa and Families of Adolescents with Internalizing Disorders

“…The LTP may therefore be a valuable tool in identifying children and families with communication deficits and dysfunctional relational patterns at an early stage. For example, prenatal LTP may open a window into the development of the coparental behaviors and representations before the baby’s birth (Altenburger et al, 2014). A significant continuity was in fact observed between the prenatal coparental behaviors and the observed coparenting behaviors 1 year later; moreover, fathers who engaged in higher quality prenatal intuitive parental behaviors were discovered to exhibit more supportive parental behavior during the postpartum, when pregnant mothers presented lower parenting behaviors (Schoppe-Sullivan et al, 2014).…”

Coparenting Behaviors as Mediators between Postpartum Parental Depressive Symptoms and Toddler’s Symptoms

“…The marital relationship fulfills the emotional and sexual needs of the parents and exists independently from the children. In contrast, the coparenting relationship “physically” starts from the moment the child arrives in the family—although it may have already emerged during the prepartum period at a psychological level (Altenburger et al, 2014). The coparenting relationship is the executive function through which the parental couple, as a team, provides a secure environment for the child to grow up in.…”

Prenatal Coparenting Alliance and Marital Satisfaction When Pregnancy Occurs After Assisted Reproductive Technologies or Spontaneously

“…Several studies with different populations have shown that the prenatal coparenting alliance was predictive of postnatal mother–father–infant interactions (e.g., Altenburger, Schoppe‐Sullivan, Lang, Bower, & Kamp Dush, ; Favez, Frascarolo, & Fivaz‐Depeursinge, ; Schoppe‐Sullivan, Kamp Dush, & Bower, ; Simonelli, Bighin, & Palo, ). The quality of the prenatal coparenting alliance, in particular coparental cooperation and warmth and each parent's intuitive parenting behaviors, has been shown to predict the quality of the triadic family interactions at 3 months (Carneiro et al, ; Favez, Frascarolo, Lavanchy Scaiola, & Corboz‐Warnery, ), 9 months, and 18 months after birth (Favez, Frascarolo, et al, ).…”

“…A significant continuity was also shown between the future parents' prenatal coparenting behavior and their observed coparenting behavior at 9 months postpartum. Higher quality prenatal coparenting behavior was linked to more supportive and less undermining behavior postpartum, even after controlling for prenatal observed couple behavior and reported couple functioning (Altenburger et al, ).…”