Having a baby for the first time is supposed to bring joy and happiness to every couple but it seems it doesn’t really bring joy to most couples according to a study.
Two-thirds of parents suffer unhappiness comparable to unemployment, the death of a partner or divorce when their first baby arrives and the effect is more on well-educated and older parents.
The study also found that this unhappiness that comes after the first baby stops many of the worst-affected parents from having further babies.
Mikko Myrskyla of the London School of Economics and director of the Max Planck Institute in Germany believes the experience of parents with and after the first birth help predict how large the family will be eventually.
Parents over 30 and those with more than 12 years in education were especially influenced by their state of well-being when it came to deciding whether to have more children.
Even though the first birth drops the happiness of most parents, there is an increase in happiness leading to the birth of the first baby due to anticipation.
Some of the reasons that could account for the unhappiness of parents after the first birth according to previous researches include a lack of sleep, relationship stress and a feeling of loss of freedom and control over their lives. Difficulties in reconciling family life and work may also play a role.
Despite the drop in happiness after the first baby, the research also found that parents who do go on to have more children eventually increase overall happiness in life.
I guess this must be due to the fact that they become used to life with having children.
The study was published in Demography.
Phil