These days, a lot of planning goes into starting a family - many would-be parents will limit the number of children they wish to have and will carefully choose the best time to have each one.
Not only does this mean that parents are in a better position, both financially and emotionally, when they do have children, it also ensures that they can provide a loving and stable environment.
When starting a family, there are a number of people that couples can look to for advice - doctors, their parents, counselors, and financial advisors to name a few - and this checklist has been designed to ensure you have everything under control:

• Do both of you want to have children?
• At times, you may find that one partner is ready to have children but the other is not.
  Starting a family, whilst exciting, can be highly disruptive - especially in terms of your career.
  
• Are you both mature enough to have a baby?
• If you are a couple that enjoys an extensive social life and partakes in a number of outside interests (such as sporting teams, clubs and so on), you may have to give up a lot of them in order to fully assume the responsibilities of a child.
  
• Are you both in a good financial position?
• It is always helpful to have some money already saved up when having a baby, as it is likely that you will lose one income (at least for a little bit) once the baby is born.
  
• Do you have suitable accommodation?
• It can be difficult to raise a baby in an apartment or even a small unit - growing children need lots of room to run around and play.
  If you aren't currently in a suitable home, you need to ask yourself whether it will be easy enough for you to relocate to one or not.
  
• Are there any health risks you are worried about?
• If either you or your partner has a family history of hereditary diseases and problems, you will need to look at the likelihood of your child being born with one of these issues.
  Can you afford the necessary treatment if they are?
• Do you both agree on the best way to raise a child?
• A lot of friction can be caused when starting a family if both parents do not agree on the important aspects of child rearing, such as discipline, education and feeding.
  

These are just some of the points that a couple should discuss before starting a family and, if they cannot agree on the answers to more than one of those listed above it is recommended by many people that they hold off on having a baby for the time being.