We all know and understand pregnant women have hormones,
however how do the hormones and state of mind during pregnancy affect their
personal relationship with their spouse? This article is geared towards a
wanted pregnancy from a couple who has been actively trying to conceive a
child. An unplanned pregnancy may have different emotional and financial stress
than a couple who has planned for such a journey. We can all plan, but at the
end of the day, our plans can only serve as guidelines to how we would like
events and circumstances to turn out. Emotions, Hormones, finances and
lifestyle choices, take a greater impact on the plans we make for our current
and future life and in turn can make pregnant woman more susceptible for wanting
to leave their spouses.
From a scientific view, the moment a child is conceived in
the womb, pregnant women experience a sudden increase in estrogen and
progesterone as well as changes and the functionality of other hormones within
a very short amount of time. These changes can greatly affect the mood and
physical activity of the body. A pregnant woman may be seen laughing and excited
about the pregnancy/child and she may also be seen weeping and upset about the
same situation in the same time frame. The emotions are vast and overwhelming
for the pregnant woman. If the husband shows any negative emotions, fears and
thoughts about the baby, this will greatly affect the pregnant wife as she will
begin to question his commitment, his loyalty and his affirmation that he still
loves her unconditonally and will also love the child.
Husbands should provide daily
affirmations and embrace the excitement and positives of having a child even if
you are scared out of your mind! Pregnant women jump to conclusions about their
relationships very quickly and many times feel that they are alone in this
pregnancy as the husband does not feel the symptoms of the pregnancy and may
not want to talk about it as much as the pregnant wife may like. Pregnant
women know they are pregnant every moment and think about what needs to be done
for the child’s arrival (nesting) as
well as what they want to accomplish beforehand. Their husbands may just look
towards the due date and not much else. This mindset makes the pregnant woman
question the commitment and support of the husband. They may feel they are not
as committed to making a life together as a family and may start
thinking about a life potentially without the husband, for just mommy and baby.
Now is the time to be more understanding on both sides.
Finances. Because pregnant woman tend to start earlier than
their husbands in preparing for the birth and arrival of their child, "spending” for
the baby may become an issue. This trying financial time for a couple, can include:
buying a bigger home, reorganizing and refurnishing a home to accommodate baby
and potential in laws who will be sleeping over, buying stuff for the baby,
etc. Not only are pregnant woman dealing with a rush of hormones and pregnancy
brain but also the endless ‘to-do’ list for when the baby comes.
This will greatly
affect the financial relationship of the couple if they do not have similar
spending habits and mentality on what needs to be accomplished for the child
and prioritize. If the husband shows resistance to the pregnant wife’s spending
‘on the baby’, she will once again question his commitment, loyalty and his
love for her and child. In the mind of the pregnant woman, she needs to prepare
sooner rather than later as she knows much care is needed for the baby once it
arrives and would rather get the basics done before she is too heavy and
pregnant to enjoy shopping for the baby and to enjoy the excitement together as
husband and wife as they shop, buy and prepare for the baby. If she feels she
has to ‘nag’ and beg and constantly ask to get this and that without the
husband initiating it, she will become very upset and feel he doesn’t love her
or baby and will question if he will be able to support them how she would
like. She may feel that she can do it on her own and question why she even
needs him and his support.
For the husband, prioritizing and being open about
finances is very important for your pregnant wife and to constantly reassure
her she is loved as is the baby and you will do your best to get what she would
like and communicate with her about what it is she feels important for the
child and show interest and excitement. At the end of the day, it is not a crib
she wants, it is the husband’s unconditional love and understanding.
Lastly, it is lifestyle choices that can greatly affect a
pregnant woman’s desire to want to leave her husband. If the couple was active
and travelling and social before the pregnancy and now after, due to her energy
level or general pregnancy uneasiness, the wife can not do the aforementioned activities
with her husband, it can either bond the couple together even more as they
choose to spend more time together at home or it can create a division and
resent in the relationship. For an example, if the husband continues to be
social and attend social events without his wife or travel or hang out more
with his friends because the wife is “too pregnant’ to do anything like they
used to do, can greatly affect the pregnant woman’s emotions and deeply
question his commitment, desirability for the child and family together and
start to question what type of father he will be, etc.
Husband and the pregnant wife shouldn’t
have to spend every free moment together, however the husband needs to be
sensitive and not leave her alone while he is being social. This extends to
after the baby is born as well. Family unity is created when you spend time
together, not apart. Busy work and school schedules already take us away from
quality family time. Husbands have to spend time with their heavily pregnant
wives and enjoy this time as it is very short and full of life.
questions?
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