Something every woman wonders when she gets pregnant is: what effect will sex have on my baby? what effect will it have on me? Is it safe? Why or why not?
Fortunately for everybody invovled, except for in rare cases, sex is totally awesome for both you and your baby! Even while your sex drive will most definitely fluctuate throughout pregnancy, there will probably be some libido highs. At these points I recommend – nay, I absolutely insist! – that you indulge in a good romp.
Your own health and the health of your baby will both thank you.
(For more on pregnancy, labor, birth, and post-partum, see my favorite guide – it’s a classic! – here.)
Here are 9 reasons you must have sex while pregnant.
First – you might wonder – Is it safe?
You betcha its safe!
Most women who are having a normal pregnancy may continue to have sex right up until their water breaks or they go into labor. You won’t hurt the baby. The amniotic sac and the strong muscles of the uterus protect your baby, and the thick mucus plug that seals the cervix helps guard against infection. In fact, plenty of babies appear to like it. Some rest more peacefully.
Orgasms themselves may cause mild uterine contractions (as can nipple stimulation!), yet they are both temporary and harmless.
1) Lowers blood pressure
Because its a form of exercise as well as a way to release happy chemicals and reduce stress, sex has been found to lower blood pressure. This is excellent for both you and your baby, since high blood pressure is one of the most prominent causes of the pregnancy complication preeclampsia.
2) Improves the immunological relationship between you and your baby
Since the fetus is a foreign body, the immune system of the pregnant mother goes on the defensive during pregnancy. This can be dangerous to both the mother and the baby as it can create an immune system war of sorts.
Fortunately, a healthy diet in a body low in insulin, blood pressure and other inflammatory markers helps keep this immune response under control.
Additionally, semen has a particular protein in it, called Human Leukocyte Antigen G. HLA-G modulates and suppresses a pregnant woman’s immune reaction to her fetus and its foreign tissue. HLA-G is absorbed through the vagina after ejaculation. It is also absorbed through the stomach if you ingest it during foreplay!
Sex therefore helps prevent immunological war! This is another factor that can go a long way towards preventing preeclampsia.
Image courtesy of sciencenordic.com
3) Pain reduction
Orgasms – though sex in general, really – release high doses of oxytocin, the “love” or “cuddle” hormone that is associated with happy bonding feelings. Oxytocin also happens to dramatically increase pain tolerance – which can be a big bonus for women nearing the end of the third trimester.
4) Birth Control Free Pass!
This is one of my favorites. Here – you don’t have to worry about pregnancy! You’re already pregnant! Score one for simple, unprotected sex.
Go get em, tiger.
5) You get to explore a new body
Your body might be in funny shapes that makes you feel uncomfortable, but you should instead feel empowered and awesome! Your body has a BABY in it, for crying out loud!
Your breasts will also grow during pregnancy, which can be fun to play with.
Other things change as well, so play with them while you’ve got them! Even if they’re new curves and jiggly spots, that’s totally awesome too! Maybe pregnancy can help you develop your love for those parts of your body.
6) Increased sex drive
Pregnancy increases bloodflow to the pelvic area, which increases orgasmic sensitivity. Boatloads of women report having mindblowing orgasms while pregnant – some even having orgasms for the first time! This is especially true of the second trimester. Sometimes women report the extra sensation as too strong for pleasurable sex, but even for these women that is not all of the time.
You may also experience increased vaginal lubrication during pregnancy, which can be a lot of fun.
7) Heightened breast sensitivity
Breasts often feel tingly, tender, and unusually sensitive to touch, particularly in the first trimester, due to the high influx of female hormones during this time.
8) Start or Speed labor
Semen contains prostaglandins which help soften and dilate the cervix, speeding and easing labor. Orgasms can also give you a hefty dose of oxytocin, which is the primary hormone responsible for contractions!
So long as your water hasn’t yet broken, sex before labor is 100% safe! Having sex at this time can help induce labor, speed it up, and maybe even make it feel less painful!
9) Increased post-partum recovery speed
Sex and orgasms increase the strength of pelvic floor muscles (as do kegel exercises). Strengthened pelvic floor muslces speed up muscle healing in the days and weeks following birth.
This is also excellent for supporting bladder control. Many pregnant women have experienced involuntary urination at some point or another – when you have a scare or laugh too hard, or anything at all, really! But kegels, sex, and stronger pelvic muscles can definitely help you control that.
So that’s my list! What do you think?
(And again – for more on pregnancy, labor, birth, and post-partum, see my favorite guide by Ina May here.)
So – what is your experience with pregnancy and sex? Love it? Hate it? I know lots of women who say it’s the best sex of their lives, even though there are plenty others who have leses mind-blowing experiences. I would LOVE to hear your stories in the comments!!!
Now that my little one is 7 months old I would LOVE to go back to pregnancy sex. Besides not worrying about waking up a sleeping baby, it was absolutely the best I’ve ever had. And for me, the heightened breast sensitivity has continued as I continue to breastfeed. I don’t know exactly what the correlation is there, but I’m NOT COMPLAINING. 😛
Stefani,
In theory everything you’re saying is correct, and this probably reflects the experience of a lot of women. Heck, I probably would have written this article before I got pregnant.
But once I did, in fact, get pregnant, it’s like BAM! Hormones are all over the place, and my sex life isn’t the same anymore. My husband and I have had a great sex life for 10+ years, and neither of us have had any trouble with arousal or orgasm. But in my current pregnant state, arousal is tough, and the dryness makes for very uncomfortable sex. Luckily, hubby man is super nice and doesn’t push for it because he knows I don’t enjoy it.
That said, the increased blood flow does mean awesome orgasms. And a little, umm, self love, goes a long way 🙂
Great article! Definitely something I’ve though about. How much can sex actually speed up labor? I have to have a c-section for medical reasons so obviously I would want the baby to start comming out on its own!
I have a week old baby. He was born 11 days late. We did try sex to get labor going. Once about a week before he was born, and the night before he was born. (I can’t say for sure that it triggered labor, but probably helped.) Plus we figured we weren’t going to be doing it for a while after he was born. For me it is true that I was very lubricated while pregnant. Like obnoxiously needing to change panties 2 or 3 times a day. My husband loves the extra big boob action. Especially now that they are full of milk. Other than that, the big belly got to be a challenge. But it is a great stress reducer. That’s my 2 cents.
I remember breast sensitivity being a big issue for the first few months of pregnancy, as in, don’t you dare touch them! Ongoing nausea was a factor as well – I just didn’t feel great in general. We struggled with infertility for a number of years so, quite frankly, it was a relief to take a break from sex for a while. Later on I was disappointed that my husband was not interested *at all* – despite that I told him it was perfectly safe he could not get over the idea of taking any risks with the pregnancy (I had miscarriages as well). There was some increased libido, which I took care of on my own 😉 I did finally convince my husband to try to get labor started when I was at my due date – I remember that being *very* uncomfortable due to the size of my belly. Labor started the next day, but who knows if it made a difference. With my second pregnancy, basically the same situation, although I did convince my husband to indulge me a few times – I found that my favourite positions no longer worked for me and was not able to have orgasms with intercourse. Second time around sex on the due date didn’t seem to have any effect at all – baby was four days late.
I found this very comforting, especially after my primary care doc made an offhand comment that having sex in the first trimester may have been what caused my miscarraige at 8 weeks. That didn’t ring true for me, but is there any scientific research that you know of that would have led her to think that?
I unfortunately have not had the opportunity to indulge in such great activity. My partner stopped touching me the minuet he found out I was pregnant. We had sex a few times (2 or 3 at the most) but he really did not enjoy it, even though my sec drive was sky hi. I agree that during the fist trimester I was least interested but I have such a high sex drive after that period that I turned to pornograpy and masterbation which I am ashamed of especially as I’m not sure what mental effects this might have on the baby. I am now almost a week overdue and wish I found this earlier as could have used this to convince my partner to endulge.
Hi love,
Please don’t feel ashamed. There’s nothing wrong with using pornography and especially nothing wrong with masturbating… if it helped you feel better I would guess that it actually helped your baby. Good luck with your delivery, and please don’t worry about how this would affect your baby. <3