title: Changes in marital congruence and quality of life across the transition to parenthood in couples who conceived spontaneously or with assisted reproductive technologies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between changes in marital congruence (ie, level of agreement between partners about their relationship) and quality of life across the transition to parenthood in couples who conceived spontaneously and with assisted reproduction technology (ART).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective longitudinal cohort design using multilevel modeling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Portuguese large public university-based hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnant couples who conceived spontaneously and with ART.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  ENRICH Marital Inventory and the World Health Organization Brief Quality of Life Instrument.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For all couples, an increase in satisfaction with the marital relationship was associated with increases in all quality of life domains. For couples who conceived with ART only, a decrease from pregnancy to the postpartum period in congruence about the existence of conflicts in their relationship was associated with a decrease in psychologic quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Couples who conceive with ART are usually satisfied with their marital relationship, but they may still disagree in their perceptions of this relationship, which may negatively impact their well-being. These results reinforce the role of couple-based interventions to prevent intracouple disagreement across the transition to parenthood, especially when conception is achieved with ART.
authors: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal. sgameiro@fpce.uc.pt
authors: Sofia
authors: S
authors: Gameiro
authors: Bárbara
authors: B
authors: Nazaré
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Fonseca
authors: Mariana
authors: M
authors: Moura-Ramos
authors: Maria Cristina
authors: MC
authors: Canavarro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult