First-time parents' postpartum changes in employment, childcare, and housework responsibilities

Objective. To investigate postpartum changes in first-time parents' work responsibilities, and to identify predictors of parents' satisfaction with housework sharing. Methods. Two hundred and sixty one fathers and mothers (128 couples) expecting their first child completed surveys about their work responsibilities during pregnancy and at 6 months postpartum. Results. Time devoted to work responsibilities increased by 64% for mothers and 37% for fathers after childbirth. Mothers (vs. fathers) reported significantly greater increases in childcare (48.9 vs. 25.7 h/week, p