This weekend, wrap a ten-pound bag of flour in a pillow, strap it around your waist and spend the day trying to do the things you usually do. As you will soon discover, you'll be incredibly uncomfortable and will dream of the moment when you can go back to navigating in your old body!

Now you know just how your partner feels - and will continue to feel, as she carries that “sack” around until your baby is born!

What’s more, the weight of being a mother-to-be is more than just extra poundage. Pregnancy brings extraordinary emotional highs and lows. These can add extra strain to a marriage when one partner seems to be carrying more of the load. Only one remedy has been proven to lighten this burden: liberal amounts of sweet empathy!

It’s Empathy Time!

Empathy means trying to relate to the world from your partner’s perspective - by doing the “flour-sack wrap” described above, for example. Experiencing her discomfort - rung one on the ladder of pregnancy woes - will help you be more tolerant and patient when your partner feels upset (blame it on the hormone swings) and exhausted (blame it on how hard it is to find a comfortable sleeping position). Be supportive, even when she seems to be pushing you away. She may feel resentful that your life has not changed physically while she can’t even bend over to tie her shoes without help. This helplessness will be short-lived, but it may not seem that way to her right now.

Empathizing with your partner is step one; step two is helping. What can you do to make things smoother for your mate? Pitch in and help as much as possible, and listen to her when she wants to talk - about the stress her body is feeling or the changes in her shoe size (yes, feet do often swell during pregnancy!). Whatever the issue is, be there for her. Your relationship will grow as a result, with both of you understanding a deeper meaning to your love for each other.

This information is not a substitute for personal medical, psychiatric or psychological advice.