Commitment and monogamy

Not so long ago ‘falling in love’ was widely thought to be the ultimate state of bliss; no matter how rich or poor you were, how pretty or plain-looking, it was as though the state of being in love put everything right – things might not always end the way you would like to but nevertheless just the experience of loving and losing was assumed to be better than never having loved at all. Now with increasing reality of the frailty of human commitment and the plethora of social networking sites which can even hook you up with someone supposedly compatible, love has become somewhat irrelevant or even an embarrassing word to use.

Like any life-altering experience, the birth of a baby ushers in a host of changes which are sure to redo the equation between a new mom’s personal and professional lives. She is most likely to find herself overwhelmed with questions like “What's best for the baby? What's best for me? Can I afford to stay home? Will my career take a nosedive if I do? Who will care for my baby if I don't?” Figuring out if she should take a break from her career can be a new mom's toughest decision and here are some aspects to the question to make things easier to understand.

Raising a child is one of the most committed action anyone can undertake and that too over many years. While bringing up a biological child brings with it some cultural and psychological support, doing so for adopted child can involve an entirely different set of complications. So before you launch yourself and your family in the long and often tortuous paperwork, here are some aspects of adoption you might want to consider.

Canine companions of humans have long been considered one of the truest friends that mankind could possibly have. In recent times though there has been a surge of obsession with pet dogs to the extent that pet handlers have to remind the owners that they are animals and should not be indulged on the same level as human partners. This phenomenon may owe to the disintegrating family structures in modern societies and increasing physical isolation among human beings but whatever the cause, so much is clear that love for pet dogs often takes an extreme form.

A pregnancy is a life-changing experience at the best of times but when a couple does not feel the same way about the arrival of a baby, it can bring unhappy complications. Sometimes being unprepared for such a major change can lead one to think of in extremes - like an abortion. If this is the case with your partner, while you would like to consider other alternatives, here are a few ways to go about it.

India’s population is projected to overtake China – currently the most populous country in the world – by 2030 and while the Indian government spends billions of dollars every year on family planning campaigns, the message appears to reach few in the rural corners of the country. This was amply demonstrated by a media report1 of a woman who became a mother for the sixteenth time in her seventeen years of married life.

When you vow take your spouse “for richer or poorer”, “in sickness or health” and “till death do us apart” during your wedding ceremony, the words seem little more than an inspiring note to begin your married life with. It is only when an ugly reality like a life-threatening disease breaks in the ordinariness of married life that the vows are actually put to test. So if your spouse had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, here are a few things to keep in mind.