The Pros and Cons of a New Baby

2461 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How single parent households affect children

Introduction

Children are the pride and joy of many homes, but often parents’ struggles to meet the needs of their children. Some two-parent income home has been cut into a single parent home, due to divorce, lost of jobs, redundancy at work, and one parent leaving their job to become full time parents. With financial strains comes distress and discomfort in the home when the main breadwinner is unable to meet the needs of his or her family. For some families, nuclear, extended, or single parent, the birth of a baby brings tremendous joy and happiness. However, in some circumstances new birth can have a negative impact on the family. The birth of a baby can cause emotional strain and detachment, financial difficulties and sibling rivalry.

I will use the double –strand metaphor to organise my paper. First, I will look at the pros and cons of a new baby within a two-parent family compared to a single parent home. This paper will also look at home postpartum depression affect the family after birth. This paper will explore and examine how new births changes the dynamics of the family, mother and father as well as older or younger siblings. Finally, I will give recommendation on how to prepare for new birth as well as coaching siblings to be accepting to newborn within a family. I will also be discussing the role social workers can play in assisting families who are expecting new born. The main purpose of this paper is to present a model in which the negative and positive aspects of new birth are highlighted and in my model, I will explore how childrearing is impacted by mother and father. As well as, the emotional jealous that is likely to transpire from a father and sibling when the baby is born.

Critical Issues

In a nuclear ...

... middle of paper ...

...allister,Lynn Clark. (1995). Becoming a Father. The Journal of Perinatal Education,

4(1), 1-8. Retrieved on February 10, 2011, from Genderwatch (GW). (Document ID: 54074211).

Richard, J., (2007). Raising Children is Costly; Important Plans and Save. Retrieved on

February 26, 2011, from www.theobserver.com

Steffensmeier, R. H., (1982). A Role Model to Parenthood. Retrieved on March 4, 2011

from Journal of Marriage and the Family. 44:319-334

Waldron, H., & Routh, D. K., (1981). The Effects of the First Child on the Martial

Relationship. Journal of Marriage and the Family 43:785-788

Winser, K. Logsdon, M., & Shanahan, B. (2008). Web-based Education for Postpartum

Depression. Conceptual Development and Impact. Archives of Women Mental Health, 11(5-6), 377-85. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from ProQuest Psychology Journals. (Document ID: 1606633101).

Show More
Related

  • Depression In African American Women

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to research, African American women face tougher hardships when dealing with depression. This is a research proposal examining how African American females rate their levels of depression. The National Institute of Mental Health defined depression as “a mental illness when someone experiences sadness and a lack of interest in everyday social activities.” The DBSA (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance) stated that at least 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older, suffer from some form of depression. Depression is sometimes used to describe those that are sad from time to time with or without “valid” explanation as well as those who often feel lonely or neglected. No matter what

    Read More

  • Family Stressors Case Study

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    Having a family is no easy task, especially when you are faced with many challenges that are unforeseen. Sometimes one imagines or hopes for an ideal family. The ideal family would consist of a spouse, one or two kids and live happily with little to no conflicts. The reality is that even if one tries to avoid conflict by all possible means, conflict is inevitable. Stressors and strengths within a family can be seen in almost every situation. Although stressors tend to be more noticeable than the strengths. Some of which will be discussed later on, although it will be mainly focused on the strength and stressors faced after a divorce for children. But if one focuses on the stressors more than the strengths, one will only see stressors rather than solutions.

    Read More

  • Sexual Deportment Essay

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although a pregnant adolescent faces many stressors, which can translate into sundry psychological quandaries such as melancholy, the most consequential effects may pertain to the child. According to Steinberg (2011) children of adolescent mothers “are at a more preponderant risk of developing a variety of psychological and gregarious problems”; largely, due to being raised in a poor environment and/or a single parent household (p. 363). Psychological issues can additionally arise due to puerile parents interacting with their infant less often, which have a consequential effect on the child’s development (Steinberg, 2011).

    Read More

  • Human Services

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    Children and families have various issues that must be addressed when they are in facing difficulties. The family dynamic offers multiple perceptions and needs, these may require addressing matters individually as well as on a group level. There may be matters such as domestic violence or substance abuse which requires both individual and family counseling and resources. In times of crisis families need education and coping strategies in order to regain their lives back. The necessities of the family may entail emotional and medical support requirements depending on their situation. When there is a possible case involving violence the focus may turn to more than medical and emotional support and possible removal of the children from the home may be required. Single mothers’ needs may be comprised of employment, education, shelter, food, child care and assistance with medical and child support. In some cases counseling and a support resource may be all that is required. When a divorce occurs, the needs which were once met by a two parent family now rest on the shoulders of ...

    Read More

  • Depressive Disorders

    1689 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Major depressive disorder is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. Each year about 6.7% of U.S adults experience major depressive disorder. Women are 70 % more likely than men to experience depression during their lifetime” (“Depression”). “Depression is an important public-health problem and one of the leading causes of disease burden worldwide. Depression is often co-morbid with other chr...

    Read More

  • Major Depressive Disorder

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Women are two times more likely to develop depressive symptoms then men”(Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors in Women’s Health, 1990), and women who are among the child-bearing years tend to be more at risk. However this is not to say that men are not affected by depression. It is usually, because of negative social influences, such as economic instability, and/or the inability to handle stress in their lives.

    Read More

  • Mental Illness: Depression

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is a serious mental health illness which affects an individuals’ mind, body and mood. It is a chronic and lifelong health condition (NICE, 2006) thought to be caused by a number of biological factors including neurotransmitter disturbances in the brain and an element of genetic vulnerability; these are often in addition to psychosocial factors such as the occurrence of undesirable life events, limited social network options, poor self esteem and the occurrence of any adverse life events during a persons’ lifetime (Bernstein, 2006). Depression can have an impact on a persons’ ability to do many things including working, engaging with others, participating fully in family life or maintaining relationships, and it can also impact on a person...

    Read More

  • Applying the Sociological Imagination to Sole-parent Familes

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    Families are becoming more diverse and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some people consider families to be strictly biological, while others consider people they love to be their family. Although two-parent families, also known as a nuclear family are the majority, one-parent families are becoming more common in today’s society. A sole-parent is considered to be a parent without a partner or spouse who is the primary care giver of one or more children in a household (Ministry of Social Development, 2010). From the age of 14 onward I was raised by m...

    Read More

  • Clinical Depression

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    Clinical depression is very common. Over nine million Americans are diagnosed with clinical depression at some point in their lives. Many more people suffer from clinical depression because they do not seek treatment. They may feel that depression is a personal weakness, or try to cope with their symptoms alone. On the other hand, some people are comfortable with admitting their symptoms and seeking help. Such a discrepancy may account for the differences in reported cases of depression between men and women, which indicate that more than twice the numbers of women than men are clinically depressed. According to the numbers of reported cases of depression, 25% of women and 10% of men will have one or more episodes of clinical depression during their lifetimes.

    Read More

  • Women and Depression

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    National Institute of Mental Health. (2014). “Depression: What Every Woman Should Know”. Pub No. 95-3871.

    Read More

  • Preparing for and Having a Baby

    2841 Words  | 6 Pages

    There are many different areas to consider when preparing for and having a newborn. Whether the pregnancy was planned or unplanned or the couple is married or not, a newborn baby brings new responsibilities. Having a baby also forces people to make adjustments both financially and within the family. Parents also express concerns and expectations when having a newborn comma especially when it is their first; including what roles each parent and family member should play, how much confidence they have in their parenting skills, and how much financial strain would be placed on the family once the newborn has arrived. The newest issue in today’s society is the fact that many women are delaying childbirth and having more children in their later years of life.

    Read More

  • How Children of Single Parent Families are Affected

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is never a child’s decision to only live with one parent. There are many ways that single-parent homes occur. Some of these ways include unplanned pregnancy, divorce, the decision to be a single parent by choice, and death of a spouse. In every case families are disputed greatly. Parents might experience depression, emotional problems etc…. but the child is affected the most. Single-parent families are commonly targeted for controversial issues. We must be careful that we don’t stereotype these when they’re very hard to take care of themselves and their children. We do however need to notice distinct patterns in children who give up in a single parent home and what problems they face. Even though a dual family is noted as the best environment for c...

    Read More

  • Duvall's Family Development And Life Cycle Theory

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    To support the emotional and physical health of these families, nurses provide interventions that assist them through the nine tasks of family development. For Danny and Mark, lack of sleep, lack of time, social isolation, and fatigue impacts their relationship and emotional state. To help mitigate the effects of stress, the nurse educates them on activities to reduce stress and finds ways to maximize their schedule to provide opportunities to participate in those activities. .The nurse also helps Danny and Mark by suggesting and/or finding resources to help with childcare which will provide time for them to spend with each other and with friends. Supporting the emotional health of families with newborns influences positive parent-child relationships and decreases infant maltreatment, family conflicts and negative outcomes (Goldberg & Smith,

    Read More

  • Anxiety and Depression

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cassano, P. Fava, M. (2002). Depression and public health: an overview. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 849–857. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.com/resources/depression.php

    Read More

  • Croods Strengths And Weaknesses

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    With changes in a person circumstance comes the opportunity to grow and learn. The Croods now experience many strength and weaknesses that they did not know existed prior to the birth of their baby. Of all of the strengths and weaknesses present within the Croods family there will be an analysis of the primary four. One of the Croods strengths are that they live very close to the husbands’ family. Being near the family provides the Croods with an amazing support system. It is also important to note that the family members also have children of their own, meaning that they may have some insight to share with the new upcoming parents. According to Devolin, Phelps, Duhaney, Benzies, Hildebrandt, Rikhy and Churchill (2013) it is important for new

    Read More

More about The Pros and Cons of a New Baby

Open Document