Sex during pregnancy is not a very complicated issue, if you are well-equipped with the right information. It defers from person to person. Each woman has a different sex drive during each trimester of their pregnancy. Sex drive might increase or decrease during pregnancy and both occurrences are totally normal.

A very common explanation to this logic is: Higher levels of estrogen and progesterone, as well as an increase in blood flow to the genitals, can lead to heightened sexual desire. It actually differs every trimester. For some women the hormonal changes due to pregnancy tend to enhance the sex drive. Women do not react the same way to all hormonal changes.

It is common for a woman’s sex drive to decrease during the first trimester, peak in the second, and go down again in the third. Things are very unusual and new to adapt for a woman’s body to adjust to the new hormonal changes. The first physical changes are hard to adjust to in the beginning. Nausea, mood swings, fatigue, digestive issues and many more, affect libido. As we all know, that every woman’s body is different from another one.

Some women might not like sex during this time. There is no set of rules for sex and pregnancy for a woman’s body. In most women, sexual urges increase during the second trimester. After week-6 of pregnancy, levels of human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG) start decreasing, which typically means less nausea and higher levels of energy. Also, estrogen and progesterone levels continue rising to support the growing fetus during the second trimester. This leads to heavy blood flow to the vulva and ultimately results in arousal, sensitivity and pleasure.

Now comes the hard part. Things change a lot during the third trimester. The little baby is gaining weight and becoming slightly bigger with each passing day. This leads to a lot of back pain, leg pain or swelling, weight gain and much more in many pregnant women. Some women tend to get gestational diabetes and hypertension which stays for until the delivery and if not treated properly may persist after childbirth.

Therefore, sexual activity is difficult during the last trimester. Some parents are scared that they might hurt the baby. Some couples have sex even in their last trimester and it is completely okay to do so. Trying different positions could be a good help. If it is still uncomfortable then there is nothing wrong in finding different ways of intimacy with your partner.

Sex during pregnancy, safe or not? Dr. A Chakravarthy, Sexologist Explains

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