Oh Baby, You're a Lot of Work!
Oh Baby, You're a Lot of Work!
Nov. 30, 2000 -- Expecting your first baby is exciting, fun and stressful. You try so hard to do everything just right to prepare for the arrival of your little bundle of joy. Planning for all the changes that will occur in your life and in your relationship as a couple is essential, but many new parents probably don't even guess at the extent of the astounding increase in work that awaits them when that little one comes through the door.
In one new study, though, about 150 couples expecting their first child tried. One thing was apparent: the expectant parents were expecting a bundle of work to arrive with that bundle of joy. In fact, moms expected their total workloads to increase by about 85% and dads by about 53%. Those whopping figures translate to moms planning on working an extra nine hours per week longer than their male partners by the time baby is six months old. This is on top of the hours devoted to paid jobs and prebaby chores.
Expectant parents often are so busy concentrating on looming issues like giving birth and caring for their newborn that they don't take time to plan out how they are going to cope with all the extra work without exhausting themselves or ruining their relationship because one partner feels he or she is doing all the work, says the study's author Dwenda K. Gjerdingen, MD. The study appears in the November issue of The Journal of Family Practice.
"It's a really big deal," says Gjerdingen, associate professor of family practice and community health at the University of Minnesota Medical School in St. Paul. "You have to plan for it and prepare for it."
Gjerdingen suggests couples sit down together and make a list of all their household chores and all the baby-related duties they expect to have. If both parents will be working, she says their planning should include a specific arrangement for how they will deal with emergencies such as someone having to stay home if the baby is sick and who will take time off or reschedule their day around well-baby visits.
Oh Baby, You're a Lot of Work!
Nov. 30, 2000 -- Expecting your first baby is exciting, fun and stressful. You try so hard to do everything just right to prepare for the arrival of your little bundle of joy. Planning for all the changes that will occur in your life and in your relationship as a couple is essential, but many new parents probably don't even guess at the extent of the astounding increase in work that awaits them when that little one comes through the door.
In one new study, though, about 150 couples expecting their first child tried. One thing was apparent: the expectant parents were expecting a bundle of work to arrive with that bundle of joy. In fact, moms expected their total workloads to increase by about 85% and dads by about 53%. Those whopping figures translate to moms planning on working an extra nine hours per week longer than their male partners by the time baby is six months old. This is on top of the hours devoted to paid jobs and prebaby chores.
Expectant parents often are so busy concentrating on looming issues like giving birth and caring for their newborn that they don't take time to plan out how they are going to cope with all the extra work without exhausting themselves or ruining their relationship because one partner feels he or she is doing all the work, says the study's author Dwenda K. Gjerdingen, MD. The study appears in the November issue of The Journal of Family Practice.
"It's a really big deal," says Gjerdingen, associate professor of family practice and community health at the University of Minnesota Medical School in St. Paul. "You have to plan for it and prepare for it."
Gjerdingen suggests couples sit down together and make a list of all their household chores and all the baby-related duties they expect to have. If both parents will be working, she says their planning should include a specific arrangement for how they will deal with emergencies such as someone having to stay home if the baby is sick and who will take time off or reschedule their day around well-baby visits.
