As a Mother, Infidelity Can Negatively Affect You Psychologically, Physically and Financially

If your husband is having an affair, it's important for you to understand how his infidelity can negatively affect you, as a mother, and, by extension, your children too. You can be affected psychologically, physically and financially.

Psychologically

If your husband is cheating on you, it can lead to psychological issues that can negatively impact the way you interact with your children. You may be so pre-occupied with your husband's extramarital affair that you become short tempered or impatient with your children. You may be so emotionally distraught that you neglect them, or are unable to give them the care and attention they deserve. It's difficult to focus on the needs of your children while you are trying to deal with the issues associated with your husband's affair - who the other woman is, how long the affair has been going on, why he cheated, who else knows, searching for proof of his infidelity so you can confront him about the affair, determining whether it's just a fling or if his cheating poses a serious threat to your marriage. The mental stress you're under can undermine your ability to be a good mother.

Your husband's infidelity can also cause your children to have psychological problems that you, as a mother, will have to cope with, since you're their primary caregiver. In younger children these problems may manifest themselves as depression, anxiety, problems in school, anti-social behavior or eating disorders. Older children and teens may experience the problems mentioned above, in addition to rebelliousness, promiscuity, or drug and alcohol abuse.

Physically

If your cheating husband engages in unprotected sex, his infidelity puts you at risk for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) such as herpes, syphilis, or gonorrhea. STDs can cause cervical and other cancers, chronic hepatitis, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), and other complications. If your health deteriorates, how can you take care of your children? Who will care for them if you can't?

If you're expecting, many STDs can be life threatening, for you and your baby. Becoming infected with an STD while you're pregnant, can endanger the health of your baby. Some of the harmful effects your baby can suffer include low birth weight, pneumonia, nerve damage, blindness, deafness, and meningitis, just to name a few. Your baby could even be stillborn.

Your cheating husband can expose you to other STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, which have no symptoms, but can seriously affect your reproductive system. Left detected and untreated, you could develop pelvic inflammatory disease which often leads to infertility, thus eliminating your chance to have more children. Even if you're able to conceive, PID can cause serious complications, such as an ectopic, or tubal pregnancy which can be potentially fatal to you and your unborn child.

There can be other health issues, as well. Recent studies have found that many infidelity victims experience post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD) similar to those experienced by combat veterans. The trauma of discovering your husband's infidelity can cause you to experience panic attacks, crying spells, rapid heart beat, elevated blood pressure, difficulty breathing, shock symptoms, chest pains, heart palpitations, sleep disturbances, flashbacks, difficulty concentrating, hyper-vigilance and other physical and emotional effects on your health.

Financially

If your husband's infidelity leads to separation or divorce, it could affect your ability as a mother to financially provide for your child. Without your husband's income, you may be forced to lower your standard of living.

If your husband refuses to meet his financial obligations regarding alimony or child support, as many divorced or separated husbands do, you may not be able to support your children in the manner they are accustomed to living. Consider the financial implications a divorce would have on living arrangements, health care, education, transportation, and the like.

You could end up having to work if you've been a stay-at-home Mom. Or if you're a working mother, you may have to take a second job to make ends meet. This can severely limit the time you spend with your children. An unexpected divorce or separation can put an unsuspecting wife and mother in a serious financial bind.

A Mother Cannot Afford to be the Last to Know

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to infidelity and extramarital affairs. Since your husband's infidelity can affect you psychologically, physically, and financially, if you're a mother with a cheating husband, you cannot afford to be the last one to know. For the sake of your children, you need to familiarize yourself with the both the obvious and the subtle signs of infidelity. That way, if your husband is cheating you can find out before it's too late. You'll be in a position to protect yourself legally, financially, sexually and emotionally. But knowing what to look for is the key.

Do Yourself a Favor

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