Integrating the Voice of the Dyad in the Transition to Parenthood: Listening to the Birth Stories of Both Parents

Abstract This study explores how partners experience the transition to parenthood, examining men’s and women’s experiences individually and as a couple. Although the transition to parenthood has been widely studied, most research focuses primarily on mothers, with limited attention to fathers’ experiences or to how couples jointly navigate childbirth as a relational and systemic process. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, this research centers men’s voices while situating the couple as a relational dyad. Participants were eight heterosexual couples who had a baby within the past year, representing varied ages, relational lengths, ethnic backgrounds, and birth experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually and jointly, yielding 24 interviews capturing both personal and shared perspectives. Analysis produced a disruption–response–becoming framework, interpreted through attachment theory, that conceptualizes childbirth as a systemic disruption that activates uncertainty, vulnerability, and support needs. Couples responded through dyadic regulatory processes, supporting and adjusting to one another during childbirth and the early postpartum period. These interactions shaped emerging parental identities, responsibilities, and relational patterns within the couple. Findings highlight the importance of recognizing both partners’ attachment needs during the transition to parenthood. Clinical implications include strategies for therapists to support mutual responsiveness, facilitate processing of the birth experience, and strengthen dyadic coping in early parenthood. This study contributes a systemic perspective on the transition to parenthood, underscoring childbirth as a relational process influencing both individual and couple development.