Högskolan i Skövde

Background: Parental transition means a change in the parents’ couple relationship as the baby becomes the focus, thereby affecting the parents’ communication and intimacy. Such a transition may either strengthen or strain the relationship. As becoming parents poses new challenges to the parental couple, the objective of this Swedish study was to explore how parents perceive Interplay, a digital support tool for their couple relationship and parenting.

Methods: Swedish expectant and new parents were offered the digital support tool ‘Interplay’ (in Swedish: Samspel), which they played mutually with their partner for minimum two weeks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 expectant and 10 new parents, and the data were analysed using the phenomenographic method.

Results: The results are presented in three descriptive categories: An opportunity to shed light on the couple’s relationship and shared parenting; Reflections about yourself and your partner; The design, sense of trust, interest and willingness to play.

Conclusion: Interplay was perceived by the parents as supporting them in their couple relationships and shared parenting. The parents described that Interplay functioned as a catalyst for communication and reflection within the parenting couple, which broadened the parents’ perspective. Nevertheless, parents varied in their perceptions on whether Interplay was sufficiently developed to be implemented within healthcare and offered to parents. The current study contributes knowledge on how parents perceive that a digital tool, can be designed to support them in their couple relationship and parenting during the transition to parenthood.

Trial registration: The research project is registered (02/10/2020) within the ISRCTN, with ID: ISRCTN18017741.