New Delhi: Concerned over the growing instances of divorces, the Indian Navy has come out with a booklet on how to enrich marriages. The booklet warns couples that marital discord can lead to ill-health of their children as they would be more prone to premarital sex and sexually transmitted diseases.

The booklet titled Enriching marriage and family life listed the reasons for marital discord and how couples can improve their relationships by adopting certain measures.

“The institution of marriage is being threatened by growing instances of marital discord resulting in disharmony, which often ends in divorce. Naval families are also not immune to this growing problem and it’s rising trend is a matter of concern,” Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba has written in the foreword of the booklet.

While listing the harmful effects of marital disharmony, the Navy said, “Marital disharmony adversely affects both mental and physical health of individuals. It leads to a wide range of diseases including weak immunity, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, mood swings, depression, and stress-related disorders.”

The Navy advised the officers and men that there should be no adultery.

“Extra-marital affairs are responsible for the breakdown of most marriages. A partner may have an affair based on personal dissatisfaction or for the personal gratification of obtaining a new sexual experience or emotional intimacy, but whatever may be the reason, adultery is not justifiable and never acceptable in marriages,” it said.

Based on researches done so far on child behaviour linked to marital discord, the Navy said the life of children will be “damned” if there is a marital discord or divorce in the family.

“Children of dysfunctional families have the following problems: Increased instance of health problems, much more likely to live in poverty with a single parent, increased instances of drug abuse, an increased instance of premarital sex and high rate of sexually transmitted diseases,” the booklet says.

The Navy chief expressed hope that the book will offer insights into the reasons of marital discord and also provide solutions to the naval families.

The book says that for a successful marriage,  couples should love each other unconditionally, keep intimacy alive and to “never use the word divorce”.