Congratulations! You are having a new baby – but please don’t forget - you also have a marriage!
There are over 300,000 babies born in Australia every year. 300,000 sets of parents navigating a range of changes in their relationship as their new bundle of joy arrives! Sadly, bringing home a new baby is not the emotional epicentre of happiness that is often portrayed in the media or believed by the masses! In fact – over 2/3 of all new parents will experience a significant drop in relationship quality within the first 3 years after becoming a family.
Congratulations! You are having a new baby – but please don’t forget - you also have a marriage!
There are over 300,000 babies born in Australia every year. 300,000 sets of parents navigating a range of changes in their relationship as their new bundle of joy arrives! Sadly, bringing home a new baby is not the emotional epicentre of happiness that is often portrayed in the media or believed by the masses! In fact – over 2/3 of all new parents will experience a significant drop in relationship quality within the first 3 years after becoming a family.
Let’s look at those figures again ... 7 out of 10 couples will experience a significant decline in relationship happiness when they transition from being a couple, to being parents! But “Wait!” I hear you say, “Isn’t bringing home a new baby ... becoming new parents ... creating a new family unit ... meant to be one of the most fulfilling and happiest times of a couple’s life???”
The answer to that is yes ... but the sad reality for 7 out of 10 couples bringing home a new baby can also mean:
- a drop in relationship quality as a couple
- an increase in conflict and hostility
- a decrease in intimacy and sex
- an increase in the risk of either partner developing the ‘Baby Blues’ or Post Natal Depression
- a withdrawal of father involvement
In addition, research has demonstrated that when mum and dad are in this relationship transition and potential decline within the first year, there is an absolutely negative affect on the quality of the parent / child interaction, relationship and child personality development.
HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS!
Let’s ensure you are one of the 3 in 10 couples that not only survive this transition – but flourish and grow with it! Creating a family while maintaining your relationship as a couple! We are thrilled to announce the newest addition to the Relationship Institute Australasia family!!! The 2 day
Bringing Baby Home Couple’s Workshop
This workshop is a research based and evaluated program for expecting and new parents experiencing the transition to parenthood. Developed by the relationship masters Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman and Dr. John Gottman, one of the world’s leading research scientists on marriage, relationships and families, it is designed for expecting parents and new parents alike. It is a fun, relaxed and informative workshop that will teach you skills that will last a lifetime!
This is a program that focuses primarily on YOU - the mum and dad. How you interact as a couple, grow as a couple, and remain intimate as a couple while everything changes around you. YOU become what is stable in your lives! That is the difference between the Masters and the Disasters of Relationships. The Masters GROW – the Disasters DWINDLE!
Let’s have a look at what you will learn.
The Bringing Baby Home Couple’s Workshop firstly teaches couples how to strengthen their friendship, increase intimacy and regulate conflict, and when mum and dad’s relationship is STRONG, baby's new life is much stronger, healthier and happier.
In addition to focusing on a great ‘Mum – Dad’ relationship, couples also learn about child development, how to co-parent with their partner, and discover ways to keep both parents involved.
In the Bringing Baby Home Couple’s Workshop™ you will:
- Learn how to stay connected to your partner during the transition from being a couple to being a family.
- Learn how to cope with the changes brought about by bringing your baby home.
- Learn how to promote the development of a healthier baby and help them in their emotional, social, cognitive, and physical development.
- Learn how to deal with the “baby blues” and decrease the chance of post partum depression. Both for Mum and Dad!
- Learn how to increase friendship and intimacy.
- Decrease potential conflict and hostility.
- Increase valued and accepted involvement from Dad
In fact – here is an amazing statistic. Couples who completed the Bringing Baby Home Couple’s Workshop had a markedly less incidence of observable signs of Post Natal Depression than that of couples who didn’t attend a BBH Workshop. (22.5% compared to 66%) And here are some more research findings:
Father Involvement.
- Fathers who attended the BBH Workshop reported being more involved in parenting and feeling more satisfied and appreciated for their parental contributions.
- Fewer fathers who attended BBH showed signs of depression and anxiety.
Couple Relationship Quality.
- Both mothers and fathers demonstrated less hostility during conflict discussions
- Learnt to resolve conflict in a shared way.
Parent / Baby Relations.
- Parents who attended BBH demonstrated greater sensitivity and responsiveness to their babies (this was particularly true for the dads)
- Babies of parents who attended BBH expressed more smiling and laughter during family play time.
- Parents who attended BBH demonstrated better co-parenting abilities by being able to work together more positively.
There are so many more wonderful outcomes from attending a Bringing Baby Home Couple’s Workshop, but the rest is up to you to experience. While this program is research
based and research tested – it is also not a one size fits all program. What we take out of it depends on what we put into it. It is fun, experiential and interactive. You will learn, laugh and love! Do the very best thing you ever could do for your new baby by learning how to develop a beautiful relationship with your partner!