Relationship experts warn of 'Babyquake' for new parents,
New research released by relationship charity OnePlusOne, shows that
40% of new mums, who had post-baby concerns about their relationship, felt they
may no longer be sexually attractive to their partner and 25% of new dads were
worried their partner was no longer interested in sex. Just over a quarter (27%)
of new parents longed for some time alone as a couple.
The research draws attention to the relationship issues faced by new
parents (with their oldest child under 3) and makes recommendations for how they
can be overcome. It shows that almost two thirds (64%) of new parents had
concerns about their relationship that were not there before they had a
baby.
The findings are released in a
new report by OnePlusOne entitled ‘Sleep, Sex and Sacrifice: The transition to
parenthood, a testing time for relationships’. The report outlines some of
the challenges new parents face, including how to divide up the cooking and
cleaning as well as hang on to a sex life, social life and sense of
identity.
Penny
Mansfield, Director of OnePlusOne said: “For some parents having a baby can be
like a mini earthquake. Becoming a
parent can put a relationship under extreme pressure as each partner tries to
adjust to their new role. Often one
person becomes a stay-at-home parent in the early years and this can be very
isolating; if they feel the partner who is out at work does not appreciate them
it can lead to arguments. Helping couples stay together is vital. Family breakdown costs around £46bn
every year – and that’s before you factor in the emotional cost to the family
and particularly children.”
The new report shows that new parents think there is a need for
advice on strengthening relationships. ICM were commissioned to undertake the
survey of more than 500 new parents, and according to the poll just under
two-thirds (65%) feel support is just as important when couples are getting on
well as when they have relationship difficulties.
Penny Mansfield said: “We know from this research that advice for
parents tends to be around parenting, rather than looking after themselves or
their relationship. Couples consider relationship advice to be important but are
unlikely to go looking for it. We want to make it natural for couples to seek
advice on having a good relationship before a crisis happens. “Time alone is vital for new parents
because it’s very easy to slip into the habit of seeing each other as parents
rather than as romantic partners, leading to issues around sex and
intimacy.”
The survey (of over 1,400 parents) also showed that nearly a quarter
(23%) of parents are no longer with the partner they had their first child with
and of those parents who had split up, two-fifths (42%) parted company either
during pregnancy or before the child reached three-years-old.
OnePlusOne is releasing the new report as part of a project funded by
the Department for Education that encourages couples to see accessing
relationship support as a normal thing to do to strengthen their relationship,
rather than something sought at crisis point. OnePlusOne is working with Netmums,
Dad.info, YouthNet, Student Room and Contact a Family to create online spaces
where people can get advice and discuss their relationship in forums with their
peers.
No comments:
Post a Comment