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So you've met the person who you want to spend the rest of your life with. You get married, ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. Right?

Well perhaps 'happily every after' is subjective and means something different to different people. But whatever happens after you ride off into the sunset and disappear into the horizon, your married life will eventually have to make room for the little pitter patter of tiny feet. Right?

The next day

Well there are quite a few married couples who realize that for one reason or another, they cannot bear children together. Some married couples try for years to get pregnant, try all the fertility treatments (mainstream and alternative) and still come up empty handed.

There are also some married couples who either married too late or waited too long so they reach the stage of past child-bearing age and suddenly, they feel they want a child. Then there are still some couples who have their own children and yet they feel the need to spread their joy and love further to other children still.

How ever different these three scenarios are, there may come a point in their lives when they will come across the life altering question they need to ask themselves, 'Am I ready to adopt a child?'

The scarlet letter

Child adoption is a big step in a married couple's lives and may be one of the biggest decisions they will have to make together that have a long lasting impact in their lives. Having children is a big responsibility in itself and child adoption brings with it its own set of sensitivities.

For all the right reasons

If you a childless married couple who have come to the end of their ropes in the hopes of conceiving, please take into consideration that child adoption isn't necessarily the answer to your problem. Continued unsuccessful attempts at trying conceive can greatly strain a married couple's relationship and it can test even the strongest of the strong.

At the point where you seem desperately grasping at straws, you might think of adopting a child to keep the marriage together. But think it through thoroughly because you are bringing in a new life into yours and it wouldn't be fair to adopt under these circumstances. Remember, adopting a child doesn't mean that all your problems will be solved. Adding a new member to your already chaotic relationship may even result in more harm than good.

Child adoption is a big responsibility that has a huge potential to further add love and fulfillment in a married couple's life provided that they do so after they have considered all they need to consider and make the necessary adjustments for it.

Will it work for you?

So you've come to a decision that you want to adopt a child. You may be emotionally and mentally ready individually and as a couple enough to embark on this path but are you ready in other aspects?

First do some research and find out the requirements for child adoption. Also, find out statistics like how quickly can you expect to be able to find a child do adopt and bring home. Finding these details out will help both of you manage expectations.

Whatever you've been through to get to the point of wanting to adopt, remember to not focus so much on the fact that you cannot conceive your own children, instead, think of the parent-less child you will be bringing into your loving home soon.