Our resident obstetrician takes some time to answer your most pressing pregnancy questions:
Q: Is it me or does sex feel different when you’re pregnant?
A: Many woman experience changes to both their mental and physical sexual being while pregnant. Pregnancy can cause an increase in libido after the nausea and fatigue of first trimester are gone. Physical changes include much more sensitive breast and vaginal tissue.
During pregnancy, the vagina, uterus, and cervix have much more blood flow. This can leave a pregnant woman feeling much “fuller” in these areas. Some patients find this pleasurable, others find it uncomfortable. An orgasm can also feel different due to the altered blood flow to the clitoris. Semen contains prostaglandins, which can bring on contractions after intercourse. Most of the time these are short lived and non-painful.
Read more: What are the best sex positions during pregnancy?
The best way to deal with your changing libido and body is to embrace it. The changes good or bad, are temporary. However, your partner should not be left out in the cold. Make sure to communicate what you are feeling both physically and mentally.
Bleeding, pain, or contractions lasting longer than 15 minutes post-intercourse, should be brought to the attention of your health care provider. Most women can have intercourse during pregnancy without any worry. Some high risk patients, however, need to discuss sex with their health care provider, which is not always an easy topic to bring up as a patient. As a physician though, I can tell you, that we are very comfortable and used to addressing sexual concerns of our pregnant patients.
— Dr. Somi Javaid, OB/GYN; Co-Founder MamaDoc