About 85% of couples conceive within a year of trying and about half of the remaining couples will conceive in a natural way within a year after that. Some couples conceive their child quite easily without considering their environments or lifestyle habits. However, you don’t need to be extremely conscious about your health to bear a child. You only need to do the appropriate things to start with so that you can have higher chances of conception and have a healthy pregnancy.
In this article, we will discuss the
e effects of infertility in relationships and share some useful tips on how couples like you can strengthen their relationship as they try their best effort in conceiving.
The Effects of Infertility in Relationships
A large part of the pressure and frustration of infertility is the idea that fertility is normal, natural, and healthy, while infertility is rare and unnatural and means something is wrong with the person or the couple. Many infertile couples spend much of their time imagining themselves as parents but sadly, the feeling of grief takes over them deeply while trying their best to conceive. Below are some effects of infertility in relationships:
Sexual Stress
The first negative effect of infertility when couples try to conceive is sexual stress. A few weeks or months of trying to conceive can be an enjoyable and intimate moment for the couple. However, when done excessively, this love-making process might eventually turn out to be a chore over time. Later on, it brings stress to the sexual relationship of the couple as they continue on trying to time their sexual intercourse for their most fertile period. That’s why having stress in your intimate life can lead to tension in your relationship.
Disagreements and Misunderstandings
Perhaps there are moments that couples are struggling with what is the best time to seek help from the experts such as fertility doctors and OB-GYN specialists. For example, the woman wants to get help from a doctor but her partner or spouse doesn’t want to due to some personal reasons. Still, reproductive health experts and specialists recommend that you should see your doctor as soon as possible if you have been trying to conceive for a year. Also, seek help after 6 months if you are 35 or older, and talk to your doctor immediately if you notice any symptoms or risk factors for infertility.
Moreover, studies have shown that the majority of women are more likely to feel marital stress compared to men, regardless of the cause of infertility. So, when there exist some gender differences in how couples cope with infertility, misunderstandings of each other may arise as well.
Feelings of Isolation, and Resentment Due to Lack of Social Support
If only one of you wants to discuss the challenges in trying to have a baby, then the one who wants to talk about the difficulties may feel isolated and lacking social support from his or her partner or spouse. When couples don’t agree on who and whether to discuss the matter and seek help from others, their situation may likely become complicated. Couples should be a united team with the same mind, especially in this issue. If they can’t handle this problem, they will have trouble coping with infertility, and feelings of resentment towards each other will heighten.
Financial Burden
Treating and managing infertility can be very pricey as tension over finances may appear. Additionally, fertility tests and other treatments may greatly cause to lose work time and lead to a financial burden. The majority of the couples go through IVF treatment and they mostly need to borrow money from others.
Useful Tips to Strengthen Your Relationship While Trying to Conceive
Despite many couples experiencing infertility issues that make them ashamed and dissatisfied with themselves, some reports revealed that this difficult marital issue can also bring some worthwhile benefits like bringing couples closer together. This is due to the necessity of mutual support from each other, provisioning them a more secure and stronger bond than ever before. In this section, we provide you with some useful tips to strengthen your relationship while trying to conceive:
Show Your Willingness to Communicate Your Thoughts and Feelings
Be honest and calm as you bring up your worries to your partner or spouse. Although doing this can be nerve-racking for you, it is much better to show your willingness to communicate your real thoughts and feelings about infertility. Maintain the balance while discussing this matter with your partner or spouse.
Spend Time Together Doing Various Activities
Give your best effort on spending time together doing various worthwhile activities like pursuing a new hobby or activity together. For example, encourage your partner or spouse to do some reflective journaling, gardening, pottery-making, and many other kinds of wholesome activities that might interest both of you. List down the things both of you want to work on together. Doing this method will encourage you to strengthen your intimacy with each other.
Recognize Each Other’s Differences
Each one of us copes differently based on the particular issue that comes in front of us. Most people don’t express their true feelings in their actions as they prefer to hide them and act normal. So, both of you should be aware of your differences and recognize them. Continue to offer each other some care and support without making comparisons. This will allow peace and unity in your overall relationship.
Develop a Practical Plan Together
In order to improve marital satisfaction, you need to develop a practical plan of action together. Despite the hardships of infertility, you can set up some short-term or flexible plans. If you are considering spending some money on fertility treatments, discuss this matter and create a reasonable financial plan or a savings plan. If you don’t consider fertility treatments or child adoption in the future, you can utilize the savings for other purposes.
Get Some Counseling from the Experts
Talk with a reliable and professional counselor to assist you in communicating effectively and establishing mutual agreements with your partner or spouse. This is crucial if you are currently experiencing stress or a challenging situation especially when it comes to infertility. The support is provided by a counselor or therapist may help both of you to feel better and fortify your relationship.
CONCLUSION
We learned in this article that there are some negative effects of infertility in relationships such as sexual stress, disagreements and misunderstandings, feelings of isolation, and resentment due to lack of social support, and financial burden. Despite these effects, couples like you can still strengthen their relationship by following the aforementioned steps in this article. Thus, you should hold firmly to each other’s support and stay closer together.
