child. She referred to this as the "image-making stage" during which couples form hopes

and expectations about parenting. This stage largely involves preparing for changes in

relationships and roles. Most family life cycle theorists have focused on developmental

tasks required of the couple after the arrival of the baby, with similar tasks identified

across models (e.g., Carter & McGoldrick, 1999; Cusinato, 1994; Galinsky, 1981). These

tasks include the couple making room in their relationship for the acceptance of the infant

into the family, coming together to accomplish caring for the child as well as completing

household tasks and providing financially for the family, reorganizing relationships with

the extended family, and reorganizing relationships with other systems such as

employers. Like other transitions, this stage in the family life cycle contains both dangers

and opportunities. Some couples accomplish these tasks admirably and function better

than ever; however others seem to regress in marital competence, at least temporarily

(Lewis, 1989).

An Interactionist View of Gender

 A second theoretical framework informing this study centers around an

interactionist view of gender. Because the experiences and endeavors of men and women

differ greatly across the transition to parenthood, a framework in which these differences

can be understood is needed. Various explanations of gendered behavior have emerged

through the years, with past theories focusing largely on "sex roles" or "gender roles."

More recently, feminist scholars have emphasized the multiple levels at which the

concept of gender is constructed and have particularly attended to how gender is created

through social interaction. Gender is now viewed not as a well-defined quality of an

individual, but rather as something that is "done" through accumulations of everyday

practices and relationships with others (West & Zimmerman, 1987).