My girlfriend and I have been dating for eight months and enjoy a good emotional, intellectual and physical connection. She is 40 and I am 38, and we are keen to marry and start a family. We have started IVF after failing to conceive the natural way. The early medical signs are not encouraging, though, and we may not be able to have children of our own. It is possible that having my own biological children is non-negotiable for me. My girlfriend feels very upset when I express these fears, and feels that I am making a commitment conditional on her bearing my children when it should be about us wanting to be together. I don’t know whether to move ahead or whether to save us both time and take a chance that I could have my “perfect fantasy” family with someone else.
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