Supporting the Transition to Parenthood Through Online Sex and Relationship Knowledge

Summary

Becoming parents exerts powerful and long-lasting effects on couples' well-being and quality of life. The transition to parenthood (TtP; pregnancy to 12-months postpartum) poses significant challenges as couples balance the task of caring for a newborn while maintaining their romantic relationship. One crucial way that couples sustain their connection is through their sexuality. Most new parents experience significant disruptions to their sexual well-being (i.e., sexual satisfaction, desire, distress), with sexual concerns such as reduced sexual frequency and lack of time and energy for sex being nearly ubiquitous. Simultaneously, most new parents lack easily accessible, reliable information on the common sexual changes associated with the TtP and there is a lack of evidence-based research aimed at helping couples navigate changes to their sexual well-being across this life transition. The investigators have identified risk (e.g., stress) and protective (e.g., intimacy) factors for couples' sexual well-being across the TtP that can be targeted in a prevention program, though no such programs exist.

The goal of this two-centre randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the efficacy of STORK (Supporting the Transition to Parenthood through Online Sex and Relationship Knowledge), a novel couple-based online program to support new parents' sexual well-being. This program comprises psychoeducation about common sexual changes as well as skills that couples can develop together to manage these changes and constitutes the first evidence-based program for new parent couples' sexual well-being. The investigators expect that, compared to a waitlist control group, couples who complete STORK will have better sexual, relational, and psychological adjustment across the transition to parenthood (from 13 to 27-weeks gestation to 12-months postpartum). Given that up to 78% of new parents report receiving little-to-no information about what to expect regarding changes to their postpartum sexual relationship, this study addresses the need for accessible, couple-based supports for this commonly challenging transition. By strengthening couples' sexual relationships, the results of this research have the potential to promote the quality of new parents' relationships, strengthening the overall well-being of their families during this critical life stage.

Conditions

• Pregnancy
• Postpartum

Interventions

OTHER

STORK Program

The STORK program includes a brief orientation module (Module 0, intended to be completed in the same sitting as Module 1) followed by six full-length modules: five weekly modules in pregnancy (Modules 1 to 5) and one module at 3-months postpartum (Module 6). Couples are assigned a trained facilitator (undergraduate research assistant, graduate student, or postdoc) to answer questions or resolve any technical issues.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of British Columbia

  collaborator OTHER

• Dalhousie University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-01-31

Primary Completion

2029-03-31

Completion

2029-03-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations