Relationships are never easy, but there is compelling evidence to suggest that having kids is likely to put an insurmountable strain on even the strongest of couples. 40-70% of couples report huge stress in their relationship after a baby is born. If these problems are not dealt with, tiny fissures soon lead to major cracks in the relationship and studies show that around 30% of couples split after their first child.
Sadly, broken families are the norm in today’s society. One in three children now lives in a single parent family. These children are more likely to grow up with health issues and are nine times more likely to commit a crime. Some would argue that allowing a relationship to break up is robbing our kids of their future, but how many couples really try to fix problems when their relationship is under threat following the birth of a baby?
The truth is that it’s all too easy to walk away rather than do the hard work needed to repair a rocky relationship. We would rather throw in the towel than accept we might be to blame for problems within the relationship. Marriage counselors can’t apply a magic sticking plaster to a relationship damaged beyond repair, but they can work with couples struggling to deal with the problems caused when a baby arrives.