Transition To Parenthood Research Paper

Parent #1: Sue*

1) During your first pregnancy what were some ways that you went about preparing for your first child? “I took some parenting classes but I didn’t do any of those childbirth classes, the ones with the breathing techniques” Some of the other things that she remembers from this time is being very overwhelmed with being pregnant with her first child. “ I was married at a young age and this first pregnancy wasn’t expected”. She felt “like screaming” when she first found out that she was pregnant.

2) What emotions were you experiencing during this pregnancy? How was this different from your other pregnancies? “I was scared and just wanted to go back to my mother, it was my first child and I was still very young.” She mentions that

If not where did you find your information? “During the time there wasn’t much information in books about parenting and pregnancy.” She didn’t have any advice either because she was living far away from her family during the first pregnancy. “I didn’t do this during my other pregnancies because I already felt that I was prepared.”

11) Is there anything that you might have done differently to improve the transition to parenthood? “It would have been nice to have waited for the first pregnancy as I felt I was too young and not ready for it.” “I feel like maybe if I had done something differently to prepare I might have a better relationship with my oldest child, we haven’t seen each other in 13 years.”

12) After the baby was born where did the baby sleep, in a crib or in your bed? “They slept in a crib or a bassinet in their own rooms, I wouldn’t have wanted my baby to sleep in my bed.” She thought this question was a little strange as “most children during that time slept in a crib and not in the bed with the

“I felt scared because I didn’t know much about younger children. I also was nervous because I didn’t get along with my step-son and was scared that I wouldn’t get along with my own children when they were older.”

2) What did you do to help prepare for the birth? “I tried to be supportive of my wife and be there for her. I also talked to my friends who already had children so I had an idea of what was happening, when it was time for them to be delivered I was also there for the birth.”

3) Is there anything you would have done differently to prepare for the birth of the first child? “There wasn’t anything that I would have done differently to prepare for the birth of my first child. Even though I didn’t get along with my step-son I still had some idea of how I wanted to go about parenting my children from that.”

4) How was the transition to becoming a new parent different for the second child?

“My second child was different because I was having a girl. I grew up with brothers and never had a sister. Most of my cousins were also boys so I really didn’t know much about girls, this made me more