New study highlights the negative effects of having a baby

Having a baby is, for the most part, a joyous occasion. And with that comes a pressure to maintain a happy front.

In reality, however, having a child may have a fairly strong negative impact on a person’s happiness. According to a new study in the journal Demography the effect of a new baby on someone’s life can be worse than divorce, unemployment or even the death of a partner.

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Researchers followed 2016 participants who were childless at the start of the study until at least two years after the birth of their first child. They were asked to rate their happiness from 0 to 10, in response to the question, ‘How satisfied are you with your life, all things considered?’

Study authors Rachel Margolis and Mikko Myrskla believe that this highlights the reluctance of parents to discuss the negative aspects of having a child.

“Although this measure does not capture respondents’ overall experience of having a child, it is preferable to direct questions about childbearing because it is considered taboo for new parents to say negative things about a new child,” they wrote.

They found that most couples started out satisfied when they set out to have a baby, and life satisfaction was even higher in the year before birth. It was after their child’s birth that those parents’ experience changed.

Around 30 per cent maintained the same state of happiness, while 37 per cent experienced a one-unit drop, 19 per cent a two-unit drop and 17 per cent a three-unit drop.

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On average, having a newborn led to a 1.4 drop in overall happiness. Following the same scale, divorce equals a 0.6 drop, while unemployment and a death of a partner equated to a one-unit drop in life satisfaction.

Researchers wrote that there was a direct correlation between happiness levels and a couple’s decision to have a second child. The most significant reason was “the continuous and intense nature of childrearing,” due to exhaustion around sleep-deprivation, trouble breast-feeding, depression, domestic isolation and relationship breakdown.

While the results may be sobering, they highlight the need for extra support for new parents. Margolis and Myrskla argue that “policy makers concerned about low-fertility rates should pay attention to factors that influence the well-being of new parents.”

If you are suffering from peri-natal depression, or looking for support, head to panda.org.au.

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