Pregnant women and their partners often wonder if it's safe to have sex during pregnancy.
Will it harm their baby?
Will it result in miscarriage?
Unless there are medical reasons for abstaining from it, sexual intercourse is safe and permissible during pregnancy. Moreover, every pregnant woman has the potential to enjoy sex – perhaps more than she ever has before. The very high levels of female hormones present in pregnant woman’s body plays a vital role. The most important hormones involved in maintaining pregnancy are progesterone and estrogen.
The desire for sex and the enjoyment of it varies widely, not only from one woman to another during pregnancy, but also in the same woman at different times throughout its duration.
Generally, there is a decline in interest in sex during the first trimester, followed by an increase in the second trimester, and then another decline in the third trimester.
One of the effects of the rise in estrogen levels during pregnancy is an increase in blood flow, especially in the pelvic area. Because of this, the vagina and its folds, the labia, become slightly stretched and swollen. This stretching which normally occur only during sexual excitement, make the sensory nerve endings hypersensitive, resulting in rapid arousal.
Pregnant woman can make love whenever she wants to, given that it’s not too athletic and that there are no medical reasons for her to forego it. Good sex helps bond with her partner, which will cope much better with the stresses of parenthood. It also helps prepare for childbirth by keeping her pelvic muscles strong.