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Pregnancy Sex
I've had sex on the brain ever since the pregnancy test came back positive. Meanwhile all my other pregnant girlfriends tell me they go to bed for one reason and one reason only���to catch up on their sleep. Is there something wrong with me?
While some moms-to-be find that early pregnancy symptoms such as fatigue and nausea can cause them to lose interest in sex, if you���re not particularly bothered by such symptoms, it may be business as usual in the bedroom. In fact, some couples report that things can be better-than-ever on the sexual front, now that they're freed from the hassle of using birth control and buoyed by the exciting news that they're going to become parents. (This assumes, of course, that the pregnancy was welcome news. If the pregnancy was unplanned and one or both partners are having difficulty adjusting to the idea of impending parenthood, things can be very tense on the sexual front. After all, it was sex that led to this state of affairs in the first place.)
But for your average pregnant woman (whoever she might be!), pregnancy sex typically follows a bell-curve (which, incidentally, happens to resemble the shape of your belly!): there's not a lot of action during the first trimester and the late-third trimester, but you can make up for lost time during the second trimester, if you are so inclined. Some moms report that pregnancy is a total non-issue during the entire nine months of pregnancy: others find that the combination of raging pregnancy hormones plus their joy in being pregnant leads to a more active sex life than they've ever had in their lives. It's impossible to predict in advance how your sex life is going to play out during the nine months of pregnancy. Every woman's experience is different, and every pregnancy is unique. That's what makes pregnancy such an adventure.
Note: You may want to download a copy of Your Top Ten Pregnancy Sex Questions Answered ( a tip sheet in .pdf format).
- Ann Douglas
This question was answered by Ann Douglas, author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers, and The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby (2nd Edition).
