While you are expecting, you might not feel like having sex due to all the changes in your body, notes both the Mayo Clinic and Kids Health. But some women feel rather sexual during pregnancy and even closer to their partners. If you decide to have sex during pregnancy, you can reduce any potential risks by learning more about what you can and cannot do while expecting that little bundle of joy.
Warnings
Some women can’t safely have intercourse during pregnancy, notes the Mayo Clinic and Kids Health. Future moms of twins or other multiples, women with previous miscarriages and ladies with unusual vaginal bleeding or pain during pregnancy should avoid sex while expecting.
Considerations
Not worrying about unexpected pregnancy while expecting a child causes many women to have unprotected sex, notes Kids Health. But unless you are absolutely sure your partner does not have any sexually transmitted diseases, you still must ask him to wear a condom while you are pregnant. STDs not only harm you, but they can also harm your unborn child; some like HIV and herpes cannot be cured and can have especially serious impact on children born with such infections, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Time Frame
During the first trimester, you are less likely to want to have sex due to hormonal changes, decreasing your sex drive and causing unpleasant symptoms, like nausea and vomiting, notes the Mayo Clinic and Kids Health. However, if you feel like having intercourse and aren’t having a high-risk pregnancy, you can safely do so during this phase. In the second trimester, nausea and vomiting often subside and hormonal changes might make you feel more sexual. You can usually have sex in the third trimester, but you may not want to because of the pressure that your growing baby might place on your body. Also, all expectant moms should consider avoiding sex in those last weeks of pregnancy to prevent any chance of premature labor.
Misconceptions
Society has created a lot of old wives’ tales. Sometimes, even women who are normally confident may feel that their bodies during pregnancy are just not appealing to sexual partners, notes the Mayo Clinic and Kids Health. Your partner’s penis can’t get anywhere near your baby, despite some people’s beliefs, because the amniotic sac protects your womb from it. Also, almost all healthy women do not suffer from premature labor after orgasm.
Intimate Activities To Avoid
Having anal sex during pregnancy is a really bad idea, notes the Mayo Clinic and Kids Health. Even if your partner doesn’t have sexually transmitted diseases, he can still transfer unwanted bacteria into your body from this activity and cause a serious infection. Your body is just more susceptible to such unwanted illnesses during pregnancy. Also, receiving oral sex is usually fine, but ask your partner not to blow air while performing this delicate act on you. Fatal blood clots can result from air being forced into the vagina.
Photo Credit
- couple plage image by jerome berquez from Fotolia.com
