A baby's arrival starts a period of challenges and changes for the couple. When pregnancy is achieved trough assisted reproduction, the impact of specific experiences related to this context is added to the already characteristic challenges of this period. In this article, the relationship of couples who were submitted to assisted reproduction during the pregnancy and the baby's first two years. A literature review indicates similarities between these couples and those who conceived naturally. However, these studies are based on the assessment of specific variables, such as marital satisfaction or adjustment, and socio-demographic variables. They are also characterized by the lack of a developmental perspective, which investigates the couple's previous history and the extended family. It is believed that this perspective, combined with an approach that emphasizes the couple's experiences description, could contribute for the comprehension of the context of assisted reproduction.
assisted reproduction; marital relationship; pregnancy; parenthood