affect their relationships. Besides all of the modifications necessary in each individual's

daily routine, couples' relationships shift in ways that may not be anticipated or

understood by the new parents. Often couples who had relatively egalitarian relationships

prior to the birth of their child find themselves in "traditional" roles highly influenced by

stereotypical notions of gender once they become parents (P. Cowan & Cowan, 2003;

Crohan, 1996; Hackel & Ruble, 1992; Ruble, Fleming, Hackel, & Stangor, 1988; Steil,

1997; Thompson & Walker, 1989; Walzer, 1996). As couples' roles and experiences

become more divided along these traditional gender lines, couples may feel a decreased

sense of intimacy as well as decreased satisfaction in their relationship (Cowan et al.,

1985; P. A. Cowan & Cowan, 2003; Hackel & Ruble, 1992); past commonalities may be

overshadowed by the current focus on different domains, and men and women may resent

the restricted roles into which they have fallen or have been forced. New parents must

grapple with the pragmatic concerns of child care. They also struggle with personal and

cultural expectations of motherhood and fatherhood, and must often adjust to new

divisions of labor, power, and intimacy. Partners who were once best friends may feel

worlds apart.

 How do couples navigate these changes? Many new parents may feel they have

little control over the changes taking place in their individual lives and in their

relationship. However new parents do not passively accept well-defined roles of

"mother" or "father," nor construct these roles in isolation. Rather, couples mutually

structure the roles of motherhood and fatherhood through their everyday interactions,

negotiations, and conflicts. Yet most of the extant research on the transition to

parenthood focuses on outcome while ignoring important relational process variables