To study (i) the reasons for parents’ division of parental leave as well as the consequences this division has for their actual time at home with the child and (ii) the link between the father’s leave and his relationship with the child, as well as the parents’ division of childcare after parental leave.Ī multi-methods approach is used, where OLS regression models of survey data from the Young Adult Panel Study are analysed alongside qualitative in-depth interviews with 13 couples who have had a first child. In relation to this, we ask what factors hinder or facilitate the taking of leave by fathers and how – if at all – the leave influences the father’s relationship with his child. Swedish fathers’ parental leave uptake has increased over time, but progress has been moderate. Analysing Swedish register data forcouples who had their first child in 2003–2011, results show that (i) the (birth) mother’s leave uptake ishigher than the partner’s uptake for both SSC and DSC, providing support for identity formation andinternalized norms linked to the child’s need of its (birth) mother (ii) birth-mothers in SSC on averagetake 7 weeks less parental leave than mothers in DSC, indicating that the partner’s gender plays arole and (iii) the (birth) mother’s parental leave share is negatively related to her income but unrelatedto her partner’s income, suggesting that her labour market prospects are more important in the division of leave than any financial, family-utility maximization. By bringing in female same-sex couples (SSC) and comparing how the transition to parenthood influences the division of parental leave in SSC and different-sex couples (DSC),we can isolate parents’ gender as a predictor of the division of care from physiological and identity-forming aspects linked to being a birth-mother (or her partner). Research on the division of paid and unpaid work at the transition to parenthood has rarely been ableto separate the social construction of gender and motherhood/fatherhood identities from labour market and financial factors. Analyses of the transition to a second birth suggest that long‐term planning matters for who becomes the first‐ and second‐birth mother.
In same‐sex couples, short‐term within‐couple specialization is of little relevance for who becomes the birth mother. Couples are more likely to have a second child and to switch birth mothers if both are highly educated or the first social mother is highly educated.Ĭonclusion: Factors predicting which couples become parents are similar in same‐sex and different‐sex couples. However, within‐couple income gaps are small, and income and education are unrelated to the choice of first‐birth mother. Results: The higher the household income and partners' educational levels, the more likely couples are to become parents.
Method: Discrete‐time event history and linear probability models are estimated on Swedish population register data (1995–2016) to analyze couples' transitions to first and second birth and the choice of birth mother. Childbearing in lesbian couples is an interesting case for testing theories linked to family utility maximization and household bargaining, as these couples can often choose who will carry a child. Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze factors predicting (a) the transition to parenthood for female same‐sex couples in Sweden and (b) which partner is the birth mother for the first and (any) second child.īackground: Longitudinal studies in which couples become parents are rare for same‐sex couples in any context, even though these families are increasing.
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