‘Equitable to the extent possible’. The impact of the social-health crisis on the development of coparenting in first-time parental couples.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The birth of the first child is a period of transformation and adjustments for the whole family system which results in dynamics that influence its development and tend to remain stable during the child's first years of life. The present study sought to identify the impact of the social and health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction of coparenting in first-time parental couples. To determine the evolution of the dynamics of caregiving tasks, we employed a qualitative and longitudinal methodology in our study of 12 heterosexual couples of legal age who co-resided in Santiago de Chile. The main impact of the social-health crisis was the novel opportunity for the triad to spend the first year of life of the baby in the same space, which is interpreted positively by the parental couple. Even though there persist some traditional representations and beliefs that portray mothers as experts in upbringing, the pandemic context has made it possible to problematize this view, in a process that can be interpreted as a transition toward equitableness.