Sex during Pregnancy: Facts and myths
Sex during Pregnancy: Facts and myths
Pregnancy is a very important milestone in a woman’s life. With the increasing age of getting married, the anxiety to conceive has increased much fold in recently married couples.
In fact, getting pregnant is a much higher priority than normal sexual pleasure in a large number of couples. There are a number of issues to be discussed in this regard-Sex problems – If you are not able to visit our clinic, feeling shy or uncomfortable to meet us or need a second opinion in person, consult us online through phone, chat, email or Skype.
Can sexual activity cause harm to pregnancy-
Contrary to popular belief, there is no clear scientific evidence to suggest so. Yet common sense will guide us to be careful in high-risk pregnancies.
The best is to avoid violent sex but continue with normal enjoyable sex life Avoid female on top if she feels tired and be gentle as breast may be tender. You can use lubricants if dryness is an issue. Many believe that continuing sex during pregnancy helps in bonding in the couple, reduces stress and improved self-confidence in the female. There are fears of inducing labour due to prostaglandins in semen, especially near the term but again this is not proved.
Can pregnancy harm sex life –
Yes, pregnancy has several negative effects on sex life
1- Desire for sex – It gets reduced as the pregnancy advances. The reasons are many like nausea and vomiting in the first trimester, fear of harm to the fetus , tenderness in breast or feeling disfigured, especially in last trimester. The second trimester shows almost the same desire levels as before because emotionally. She is stable and fear of abortion is reduced somewhat.
2- Arousal– Anxiety , tiredness , pain in lower back due to unusual posture or low confidence due to fear of looking unattractive may result in reduced lubrication and painful sex.
3- Orgasm– All the above factors and fear of harm to baby inhibits the woman to let herself go during sex so reaching climax becomes difficult.
Effect of pregnancy on the partner–
This is completely forgotten aspect by the Gynecologist. I see a large number of cases who were advised to abstain completely from the time urine test is positive for pregnancy. It continued till delivery and 3-6 months after. Such a long gap for the sex-starved individual resulted in extramarital sex, visits to sex workers and contracting diseases or develop premature Ejaculation or ED when they resume sex afterwards.
People who are very sensitive or ill-informed ( as most people are) may develop severe sexual dysfunctions when there is a failure to perform as per their own expectations. This may be very crucial as often marital problems may erupt in this scenario
What to do–
1- Don’t observe total abstinence. Intimacy is beneficial so is sex.
2- Avoid positions like the female on top all the time. The missionary should be avoided in the last trimester. Best is rear entry or woman taking support from bed or kneeling down.
3- Use ample lubricant if there is dryness.
4- Assure her that she looks as beautiful as before to keep her self esteem high.
Comments
Post a Comment