Should You Have Pre-Baby Counseling?

Pre-marital counseling has long been recommended by friends and professionals alike. (I shared some stats on its value in an earlier post: click here.) But until today I'd never heard of pre-baby counseling.

Apparently counseling, in couples sessions or groups, is gaining popularity for first time parents-to-be. The goal is to offset the increase in dissatisfaction as many as 70-90% of couples experience after becoming parents. (More on that here.)

Does pre-baby counseling work? It's too early to tell, but a 2006 study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology showed that "expectant couples and new parents who participated in 24 weekly group counseling meetings experienced a much smaller decline in marital satisfaction over about five years compared with parents who didn't have the counseling." - from "So Cute, So Hard on Marriage, in The Wall Street Journal

The couples who participated in pre-baby counseling still had the same rate of divorce as the others, however.

So should you have pre-baby counseling? That's a personal decision between you and your spouse. If you opt not to see a professional, you can still set aside time for personal conversations with your spouse about how you'll handle the changes to come. Talk about parenting philosophy, how you'll divide household and child-related chores, and how you'll prevent neglect of your marriage as you care for your children.