Children add amazing depth to life, but can quickly alter the intimacy between partners.
When children are young their needs are overwhelming. As a result, the identity of the individual, as well as the couple, can be compromised. So much energy is devoted to the children that parents often feel there is little left for themselves and each other. Real life, real bills, and real laundry all work against maintaining a romantic and spontaneous marriage. A relationship needs to shift in order to accommodate new parenting roles but this does not necessarily mean that intimacy be lost.