Strengthening Couple Bonds

Marriage is a difficult experience.  It is difficult for various reasons and often each couple has unique challenges in their marriage.  Individual challenges aside, there are somethings that are hard for most couples to adjust to and one of those things is childbirth.  There are several things that we can do to help avoid some of the struggles that come from this hard time.  One of the most important things that I suggest is to make sure that couples work on their relationship often and openly.  Growing up Friday night has almost always been date night for my parents.  They would leave me and my four siblings at home and go watch a movie and eat dinner together.  This has always stood out to me, when I was young it was a little annoyed that I couldn't go have fun with them, but I realize now that by keeping that night separate for their relationship was a way that they could connect one on one and strengthen their marriage that way.  Another thing that can be done to strengthen a couple's relationship is by involving the husband in the prenatal and postnatal processes of childbirth.  This is of course assuming that the husband is willing to participate and get excited with the wife.  The wife has a challenging time with pregnancy, however she also has a chance to bond with the child before they are born.  A woman can involve her husband by describing what it feels like when the baby kicks.  Perhaps the most important thing about coming closer during this time is to look towards each other for help and support and not mainly on extended family.  Another vital thing to do for the family to bond is to have the husband in the delivery room with the wife.  It should be an experience that is shared between the couple.
I understand that not every couple will have the chance to do many of the things in here.  The most important thing to remember is that the couple needs to focus on building a strong and healthy relationship with each other.  If anything starts dragging the couple apart then steps should be taken by the couple to protect what their relationship as husband and wife.  Overall this means work from both the Husband and the Wife.