How will trying to conceive affect your marriage?

Deciding to try to add a baby to your family is always exciting, but can also cause some stress! If you and your partner have been thinking about trying for a baby, or are already actively trying to conceive, you are likely to experience some changes in your marriage or relationship. How will trying to conceive affect your marriage, and what can you do to make sure that the changes will be positive?

In the first place, trying to conceive a baby together should be fun, and should bring you and your partner closer together. Even if you had already been together for a long time, when you make that special move and decide that the time is ripe for a baby, you might well feel like you are back in that "in love" stage of your relationship. Now is the time to enjoy each other, talk about your feelings, and be open with your partner. If any aspect of trying to get pregnant makes you feel stressed, talking about it with your partner is essential. Some couples do not like the feeling that timed intercourse during the woman's ovulation creates, and feel that making love has now turned into another chore. Do you recognize yourself in this?

Then think of ways to make being intimate with your partner enjoyable again, or consider taking a step back from ovulation calendars and tests and just see what happens. The chances are that you will get pregnant naturally, without watching your cycle, as well. Finally, many couples find that trying to conceive brings unexpected and subconscious financial stress with itself. You might have calculated your budget and determined that affording a baby will not be a problem for you, but the unknown still scares many people, and in my experience men in particular. If you are trying to conceive, please do talk about money!