Do Babies Spell Doom for Marriages?
If you believe a recent study that’s been all over the news, children are wrecking your marriage. According to the study, many couples complain of marital discord within a year after the arrival of the first baby. Another study out of Berkeley that was covered by The New York Times concluded that couples who hold on until the children leave home find a return to nuptial bliss. It’s not that simple, Philip and Carolyn Cowan wrote in an article for the Council on Contemporary Families. And they should know—the two Berkeley clinical psychology professors emeriti have been studying marriage since the 1970s. “Babies don’t come along and disrupt totally well-functioning relationships in dramatic ways,” said Philip. Finding nuptial happiness isn’t just about coping with the challenges of parenthood. In fact, the Cowans have documented rising dissatisfaction in marriages whether or not there are children. Every relationship has “fault lines,” Philip explained, and children can be like an earth
