The transition to parenthood is one of the most thrilling and special times a couple can experience. In the excitement of picking out baby names and decorating the nursery, however, it is easy to lose sight of an important point: Your family is shifting from two to three (or more!) Your marriage will never be the same again. Children DO change a marriage. In the best scenarios, your marriage will only strengthen with the addition of children.
The birth of a baby inevitably brings marital stress: sleepless nights, lack of intimacy, strained finances, and the huge responsibility of being 100% responsible for another human being are just some of the factors that can cause tension. A marriage that doesn't have a strong foundation before having children may have difficulty in the early years of child-raising. In fact, recent research shows that 40-70% of new parents experience a drop in marital satisfaction.
Most couples take a curriculum of prenatal classes to prepare themselves for the birth of their baby: childbirth, breastfeeding, and newborn care classes are the norm. Why not take some time to ensure that your marriage is healthy? Prenatal marriage counseling provides a forum to discuss important issues such as expectations, roles and tasks, parenting styles, sex and finances. It also helps couples learn ways to remain friends and lovers as they transition into parents. Other important issues to discuss are the signs of post-partum depression, the roles in-laws will play as they become grandparents, as well as assessing communication and conflict resolution skills.
Rebecca offers a special prenatal marriage counseling package, which includes a minimum of four sessions and a free session within the first six months of the baby's birth. The ENRICH Inventory is usually administered at the first session. This is a 165 question inventory that each partner takes separately. The scoring shows how matched your responses are to a variety of subscales, including communication, conflict resolution, finances, and sex. This provides a wonderful baseline for discussions in future sessions. A similar postnatal package is also available for those couples who have already given birth within the past six months.