Dr Jenny Brown unpacks a pattern she sees often in her clinical work: a couple has a baby, and the mum becomes consumed by the day-to-day of caring for a newborn while the dad, often without meaning to, ends up on the outside looking in. Brown uses one couple’s story to show how this drift happens almost by accident.

The piece isn’t about assigning blame — it’s about how couples find their way back to each other through honest, vulnerable conversation instead of just dividing up the parenting logistics more efficiently. A good read if new parenthood has left you feeling more like a housemate than a partner.