The decision to add an infant to your family comes after a great deal of thought. If you're in a committed relationship, add another choice: Which of you will carry the baby? The solution depends on your ages, health, lifestyle, financial situation and maybe which of you has the better insurance.
Financial Planning
When expanding your family, there are always aspects of your life to consider aside from the simple emotional joy of having a child. A pregnancy and birth is an expensive undertaking, not only in medical costs but also in the sense that it'll likely impinge heavily on the career of whichever partner is pregnant with the child.
Chris Donaghue, a Los Angeles-based therapist specializing in sex and relationships, suggests taking a hard look at individual finances.
โKnowing this will be such an investment both financially and emotionally,โ says Donaghue, featured on the Logo TV show Bad Sex, โconsider which partner has the job where the family wonโt feel so much of a hit if they donโt have that income for a while. Think about whose income is most needed.โ
โThe person who has more of a โcaretakerโ personality style may be the best option to be the supporter, not the carrier, at least for the first child.โ โChris Donaghue, Los Angeles-based therapist specializing in sex and relationships
Further considerations include parental leave and disability. Check to see whose company might provide paid leave and whether you can tap your short-term disability policy. States also provide short-term disability coverage (usually 4 to 6 weeks) while the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave to eligible employees.
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Also take a look at which partner has the best medical insurance, says Barbara Crone, a nurse-midwife in Michigan. "Having a baby is not inexpensive, but insurance can cover a lot of the costs."
Age and Fertility
Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz., a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based ob-gyn who counts many celebrity moms among her patients, has some specific ideas about which partner should carry the child.
โOne thing to consider is whether both of the women in the couple eventually want to have kids,โ Gilberg-Lenz says. โIf age is a major factor of both of the partners and both partners want to conceive, then you should go with the older partner, because we know that fertility significantly declines in women between 35 and 40 (years old) and then significantly again after 40. As you get into the higher age category, the chances of fertility with your own eggs definitely decreases.โ
An additional vote for the younger partner comes from Dr. Vicken Sahakian, director of the Pacific Fertility Center in Los Angeles. He also notes that female same-sex couples have different options.
"The most cost-effective one is for one of them to do artificial insemination with donor sperm," Sahakian says. "In these instances, I prefer if the person is relatively young, under 35, but they certainly can try even up to age 43."
Another option is to use the eggs of one partner and the sperm of the other partner's brother, thus creating a genetic link between the partners. "In cases where one partner will be the egg source, we prefer that individual to be the younger partner to increase the chances of success," Sahakian adds.
However, age is not the only factor in considering which partner should carry the baby. The couple should also assess the medical history of the person wishing to carry the child.
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โIf there's any concern,โ Gilberg-Lenz says, โlike a history of endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease, which could affect the Fallopian tubes and fertility, you should be fully evaluated so that you donโt spin your wheels and waste a lot of time. You could very likely become pregnant, but it might require attention.โ
Relationship Stability
Emotionally speaking, there are many issues to consider before moving ahead and choosing which partner will carry the baby.
โIf your relationship doesnโt feel completely stable, youโre about to move into something thatโs even more destabilizing,โ Donaghue says.
Something that can help you decide who will carry the baby is taking a look at your relationship "style" and your emotional role in the partnership. โThereโs typically one person in the couple who has more what I call โself-regulatedโ emotions, meaning theyโre able to calm themselves easily. These tend to be the โcaretakerโ types,โ Donaghue says.
Donaghue does not suggest that only the most emotionally solid partner should bear a child. Instead, he says the emotional role dictates only in what order the partners should bear their children.
โThe person who has more of a โcaretakerโ personality style may be the best option to be the supporter, not the carrier, at least for the first child,โ Donaghue says. โThen, if you have a second baby, you have a better idea of what itโs going to feel like, so the less self-regulated partner would then be ready to be the supportive one.โ
Butting Heads: If You're at an Impasse
If you cannot come to a decision that satisfies both partners, it may be time to reevaluate your relationship for a while before moving ahead with having a child.
"If you canโt agree after going through all your options, it may be that you need to ask yourselves: 'Do we always have a problem decision-making together?'" says Chris Donaghue, a Los Angeles-based therapist specializing in sex and relationships, who is featured on the Logo TV show Bad Sex.
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"You should practice decision-making together before you make this big life decision about carrying a child, because how do you think youโll handle it when, later on, there are choices to make about how to raise your child? โฆ Take some time to make sure your relationship is as stable as it can be,โ he says.
