The normal course of family adaptation to pregnancy, birth, and early parenting is examined in this study, and variables predictive of difficulties in family adjustment during this period are investigated. Subjects were 89 married couples and 9 women whose husbands did not participate. The women had a mean age of 28 years; 46 were pregnant for the first time and 52 had other children. Data were collected early and late in pregnancy, during the hospital stay and after delivery, and at 2 months postpartum. Measures included semi-structured interviews, projective tests, standardized and "home-made" paper and pencil tests, and observations. Preliminary results revealed several correlations between parental and infant data. Mothers who had been more anxious and depressed during the first trimester of pregnancy had more irritable babies at 3 days postpartum. The less difficulty parents reported in adapting to the pregnancy, the better the baby functioned physiologically and emotionally at 2 months of age. Physiological complications during delivery correlated with poorer infant adjustment at 2 months postpartum. The best predictor of infant adjustment at 2 months was the mother's adaptation to labor and delivery. Women whose babies were rated more irritable at birth felt worse about themselves as mothers at 2 months postpartum. Findings were interpreted as suggesting that the effects of pregnancy have profound implications for the functioning of the family in the postpartum period. (JMB)