IJFS - Interdisciplinary Journal of Family Studies

The transition to parenthood involves both women and men. For the family, this life experience is one of the most challenging transformations they will ever face. (Huston & Holmes, 2004). The couple relationship during the tran-sition to parenthood is at its most fragile, as parents learn to adapt to the physical, psychological, emotional, and relational changes that occur. A sub-stantial proportion of couples struggle to adapt to parenthood, feel stress in caring for their infant, and experience a significant decline in their relationship as a couple (Petch & Halford, 2008) and a similar decline in positive couple communication (Cowan & Cowan, 2000; Doss et al., 2009). A collaborative and interdisciplinary perinatal care model is gaining acceptance and repre-sents a growing scope of practice. The approach is a viable way of providing each mother with the specific physical, emotional, and social support relevant to her needs (Kwee & McBride, 2015). Involving fathers during pregnancy and childbirth may have positive outcomes for the health of the father, his wife, and their baby (Plantin et al., 2011).