If you are having a normal pregnancy with no complications or risks, then you have probably not received any particular advice about sexual intercourse, since sex during pregnancy is generally considered safe.
However the fact that there are immense and rapid changes ongoing in a pregnant woman’s body at the time means that sex during pregnancy may be a more complicated issue.
Emotional rollercoaster
As hormone levels change in a woman’s body, so do her emotions and moods during pregnancy.
If at one moment she is ecstatic about something, it isn’t abnormal to be beset and uncertain the next.
At such a stage, when the emotions seem to be on a nonstop rollercoaster, feelings towards sex may also be uncertain.
Other pregnancy changes such as an increased appetite, sleep disturbances and physical changes could also impact the way that a woman responds to sexual overtures.
Expect the unexpected
When it comes to sexual urges there is no predicting what a woman may feel when she is pregnant. She may completely go off sex or she may want it more than ever, or she may feel exactly the same as she did when she wasn’t pregnant.
While some women report to not wanting to have sex during pregnancy, others report to having the best sex when pregnant. Even for the same woman, two pregnancies could be very different in terms of feelings towards sex.
What does it mean for the man?
While a woman’s attitude to sex could undergo a dramatic change during pregnancy the man in the relationship usually will not. This could be a problem but it need not be if both partners respond to each other’s feelings and needs with sensitivity and understanding.
Since a man may continue to have the same sexual urges as before, if it is possible, the couple can engage in sexual activity other than full intercourse; which can be intimate, loving and which will promote bonding between the two individuals. What is important is to understand each other’s feelings and desires and to respond accordingly.
As the pregnancy progresses
In the latter half of the pregnancy, there may be very physical challenges to having sex during pregnancy. For one there is the growing belly to contend with; it can become uncomfortable to have regular intercourse for the woman lying on her back during advanced pregnancy is not advisable either.
Positions can be altered at this later stage – lying on her side or on up on all fours could be positions that are more comfortable and advisable.
