Carrie Underwood, Mike Fisher
Singer Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher at the 46th Country Music Association Awards in 2012. Reuters

Forget hiring a marriage counselor, Carrie Underwood is rumored to be planning a baby in an effort to save her marriage to athlete Mike Fisher.

According to a print report from the most recent issue of OK! Magazine, the 31-year-old country singer might be expecting her first child despite a struggle with her hockey player husband over pregnancy plans. While Underwood has yet to confirm the rumor, insiders say the "Blown Away" performer could be using the rumored baby in order to save her marriage of three years.

"They've been locked in a baby battle, and it was putting a serious strain on their marriage," an insider told the magazine, adding that Fisher, 33, even gave the singer an ultimatum in 2013 if she refused to get pregnant by year's end. "Carrie made a pact with Mike last year that if he let her pursue her acting dreams, she'd get pregnant by 2014," reads the report.

So is she or isn't she expecting? While Underwood has yet to confirm or deny, insiders say the country crooner has been coy about the possibility of a blossoming bump in recent weeks. "She gives vague answers, like, 'You'll just have to wait and see,''" said a source.

OK! Magazine's reports follows similar claims published by Life & Style last month that Underwood was preparing to expand her family this year, reportedly even announcing the pregnancy to close family and friends during the 2013 holidays. "Mike and Carrie hopes to get pregnant in 2013, but they decided to put it off," said an insider, who confirmed that Underwood's starring role in NBC's live telecast of "The Sound of Music" took precedent.

In January, Star Magazine also published reports that Underwood and Fisher, a center for the Nashville Predators, were battling over baby plans. According to the tabloid, Fisher was feuding with the country star after she backed out on her promise to get pregnant following her "Sound of Music" debut last December. "Carrie is reneging on her baby promise," reads the report, which stated that her athlete beau was "fuming" following the change of plans. "She and Mike are barely speaking," said an insider.

Underwood and Fisher began dating in 2008. The couple tied the knot at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Georgia in July 2010.