Divorce During Pregnancy

Divorce is hard. Pregnancy is hard. Divorce during pregnancy? Well, needless to say, both your pregnancy and your divorce just got a little harder. While there is never a good time to get divorced, getting a divorce during pregnancy might feel like the worst time. Every circumstance is different, though, and you may need to get a divorce during your pregnancy. If this is the case for you, there are few guidelines you should follow and some information you should know before proceeding.

Prenatal CareFirst and foremost, you must keep up your prenatal care. Making sure both you and your baby are as healthy as possible will ease the physical stress on you during your divorce. Inform your provider about your divorce so your doctor can be aware of the additional stress in your life and look for any signs that the stress is affecting your pregnancy.

You may also want to consider seeing a therapist who has worked with patients in your situation before. This will help ease the emotional stress you will face during this difficult time. Stress can have a negative impact on your pregnancy causing low birth weight or even premature labor.

Legal HelpPregnancy complicates divorce procedures in a number of ways. In some states, couples may have to wait to file for divorce until the pregnancy is over or may have to wait to finalize the divorce. In other states, a judge may decide if the divorce can proceed during the pregnancy or not. A competent divorce attorney can navigate these issues for you.

Pregnancy also means a child and custody issues. If there are additional children and you are already working out custody issues, make sure you include the unborn child as well. If this is your first child and you have not yet retained legal help, you should do so immediately. Determining custody of your child is a complicated process involving real people's lives and you want to make sure you do it right the first time.

Move Quickly — Or Slow DownA divorce during pregnancy can either move quickly in order to finalize all the details before the birth of the baby, which has some advantages. A divorce during pregnancy can also move slowly, which has advantages of its own as well. Moving quickly means you can put the divorce behind you and focus on the birth of the child. Both the husband and wife can emotionally move on and put their emotional energy into the new baby.

Moving slowly could have some health benefits for the mom and child by reducing stress. The father can also keep the mother and baby on his insurance, if she needs it, reducing the cost of having a baby. Couples struggling with custody issues may find it easier emotionally to discuss custody once the baby arrives as well.

So while divorce during pregnancy certainly is not optimal for anyone involved, there are steps you can take to make it easier. Take care of the health of the mother and unborn child, get legal help right away and consider the timing of your divorce