--- title: Moms Not Happy After Baby Number Two, But Dads Are description: Dads, however, are pretty happy after the birth of baby number two canonical: https://time.com/2871268/second-baby-happiness/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-13T18:59:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:55:28.425Z og:title: Having a Second Baby Makes Moms Less Happy Than Dads og:description: Dads, however, are pretty happy after the birth of baby number two og:url: https://time.com/2871268/second-baby-happiness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0133f70ee8aeb1f7/6986979335ba6f743ac0294d/143070504.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 143070504 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Having a Second Baby Makes Moms Less Happy Than Dads twitter:description: Dads, however, are pretty happy after the birth of baby number two twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0133f70ee8aeb1f7/6986979335ba6f743ac0294d/143070504.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Having a Second Baby Makes Moms Less Happy Than Dads by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 13, 2014 6:59 PM CUT  Smiling family of four sitting in bed together Smiling family of four sitting in bed togetherMonashee Frantz—Getty Images/OJO Images RF by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 13, 2014 6:59 PM CUT The birth of a first child usually brings both parents great joy, but new analysis shows that a mother’s happiness begins to wane after the second. According to the [FiveThirtyEight](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/baby-no-2-is-harder-on-mom-than-dad/ "undefined") blog, 60% of men and women say they feel an increase or decrease in happiness after the first child is born. For baby number two, however, the numbers shift. About 65% of women report being less happy after their second child enters the world, compared to 40% of men. But a second baby doesn’t just significantly impact a couple’s happiness, the little bundle of joy can be a burden (or blessing) for couples’ relationships too. According to the data, derived from the annual General Social Survey, a National Opinion Research Center survey that examines societal change, women are less likely to be dissatisfied in their relationships after the second child than men. About 85% of men reportedly feel less satisfied in their relationship as their family expands, compared to 51% of women. So while mom is overwhelmed by the stress of raising kids, dad is growing less satisfied in the relationship. Great news to kick off Father’s Day weekend, huh? \[[FiveThirtyEight](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/baby-no-2-is-harder-on-mom-than-dad/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2871268/second-baby-happiness/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2871268/second-baby-happiness/"},"headline":"Having a Second Baby Makes Moms Less Happy Than Dads","datePublished":"2014-06-13T18:59:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:28.425Z","description":"Dads, however, are pretty happy after the birth of baby number two","url":"https://time.com/2871268/second-baby-happiness/","keywords":["Living","women","Mothers","Family","motherhood","dads","fathers","families","Children and Families","Moms"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0133f70ee8aeb1f7/6986979335ba6f743ac0294d/143070504.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0133f70ee8aeb1f7/6986979335ba6f743ac0294d/143070504.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"143070504","caption":"143070504","creditText":"Monashee Frantz—Getty Images/OJO Images RF","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2871268/second-baby-happiness/","name":"Having a Second Baby Makes Moms Less Happy Than Dads"}}]}] ```