The Barren Wife

Barren is a truly lonely word. It denotes the incapability of a woman to bear an offspring in such a manner that suggests failure and defeat. However, it is the very word that captures the difficult emotional aspect of infertility.

The inability to provide children to a husband can be a very heavy burden for a wife. Even when there are no words spoken , the wife may feel a certain degree of inadequacy especially if the marriage started with plans that clearly included having children. To discover later on during marriage that she will not be able to fulfill her part of the plan by reason of some medical condition or physical impossibility can sometimes lead her to feel that she owes her husband a remedy such as allowing him to beget children from another woman.

There are men who have handled the fact of having an infertile wife with impressive dignity and utmost respect for their respective spouses. There are many however who feel the pressure to prove their capability of procreating and make use of another woman to make the point. This is probably one of the most cowardly reasons of cheating because it only serves the male ego and nothing else.

The desire to have children even when the wife is unable to produce their biological child can be addressed by adopting. Adopting a child is a big responsibility and is not intended merely to satisfy a person's need to have a child. Couples considering this option should therefore be very careful.

Never the less, there is a life waiting for a couple unable to have children. Cheating and having children from another woman is not exactly a better option. Given the truth of the situation, couples should be able to decide for themselves the fate of their marriage instead of opting for palliatives that only serve as temporary measures. Having a barren wife is not an excuse to cheat especially since the condition is neither the fault nor the desire of the woman.