Many couples in their thirties and forties are using extreme measures in desperate attempts to conceive. Having sex strictly to conceive becomes “a job” with the introduction and long-term employment of various fertility kits, devices and monitors, with specified conception “windows” of opportunity, etc. With checklist-style precision, there is little sensual about it. Often times, regimented procedures and the restriction on spontaneity have the effect of diminishing the male partner’s sex drive. Fertility experts have warned that the pressure to have sex based on a predetermined schedule can also lead to men having “performance anxiety” when they are expected to make love on cue. Over time, such measures can have a negative effect on a relationship, as the men feel that intimacy has been replaced with a sense of duty.
Key Points:
- 1The pressure for conception causes men to experience drops in their confidence
- 2Couple’s once spontaneous sex lives are now being dictated by women’s monthly cycles and fertility
- 3Conception demands are causing couples to make extreme dietary and lifestyle changes to increase chances of pregnancy
In recent years, as demand for fertility treatments and gadgets has soared – due, in large part to women delaying motherhood to focus on their careers – so, too, has the strain on relationships.
Reply