Sexual Desire in Pregnancy
Sensation & Desire
Increased blood flow to the pelvic area can lead to a heightened sense
of arousal. The genital area can become engorged, but this engorgement
is not a potential source of pleasure for every woman. Some find it uncomfortable.
Similarly, sexual desire can be increased or decreased by the condition
of pregnancy for both the woman and her partner.
Sometimes women feel more feminine and therefore more sexual beings while
they are pregnant. Men may be more aroused by the new voluptuousness of
their partner. Alternatively, either party may experience an involuntary
feeling that it is somehow not appropriate to be involved in sexual activity
at such a time.
With such varied responses and feelings that can abound, the time of pregnancy
is a crucial time for women and their partners to be as informed as possible
and, crucially, to communicate with each other.
Other factors that can play a part in affecting the sex lives of a woman
and her partner during pregnancy are:
• Spontaneity. No need now for contraception for those sure of their
own and their partners sexual health.
• No more periods for a time. This can feel like such a new freedom
for many women.
• Fatigue. In the first trimester especially, exhaustion can mean
that sex is the last thing on a woman’s mind.
• Impracticality. The size of the bump by the third trimester may
present some difficulties. More on this below.