Sexuality in Pregnancy

The body undergoes so many changes during pregnancy, and your sexuality is no different. Here is a look at the physical and emotional changes that might occur in each trimester:

First Trimester

Emotional Changes:

• You and your partner may find your desire for sex increased because for once you do not have to think about birth control.
• You may find that you are conflicted about sex as your mental images of yourself changes to a more motherly view.
• Some women find themselves preoccupied by the thought of sex, including dreams and strange fantasies.

Physical Changes

• Your breasts may be sensitive, causing your either increased pleasure or pain. The first trimester is when your breast undergo the fastest changes.
• Nausea and fatigue may diminish your sexual appetite.
• Threatened miscarriage may limit the amount of intercourse or orgasms you may have.
• Orgasms may seem to linger, causing a feeling of tension in your vagina and clitoris.

Second Trimester

Emotional Changes:

• Many women feel sexy with their new figures, particularly if they are feeling less sickly than in the first trimester.
• Dads may be fearful of hurting the baby, or of the baby “knowing” what is going on, particularly once the baby has started moving and he can feel the movements.
• Some dads are jealous of the baby’s closeness with the mother.

Physical Changes

• The vagina is more lubricated and the clitoris and vagina are more engorged.

  Many women will become orgasmic or multi-orgasmic for the first time during pregnancy because of this added engorgement.

Third Trimester

Emotional Changes:

• Mom may be concerned that her body is repulsive to her partner, or that her figure may never return.
• To the contrary, most men are actually aroused by their wife’s blossoming figure. Communication is essential for a healthy sex life, at all points of life.
• Mother is becoming more fatigued making timing difficult.
• Positioning. Well, all I can say is be creative! Everyone has a different belly, so try different positions until you find one that works for you both. Remember mom shouldn’t lay on her back, she needs to be at least tilted to one side. Woman on top positions are great for the end of pregnancy as are spooning or rear entry.

Physical Changes

• Uterus will occasionally have spasms lasting upwards of one minute during orgasms, this is different from contractions.
• Contractions may occur near your due date after sex for about half an hour.
• Because of all the engorgement in the vagina and clitoris, orgasm may not relieve the sexual tension you feel.
• If your baby’s head is deep in the pelvis you may have pain or spotting during or after sex, this is normal. Try using shallow penetration (rear entry position offer this benefit).
• Sex will not start labor if your cervix is not ripe, so the average woman does not have to worry about preterm labor.

Remember this special time in your lives, and enjoy yourselves fully during pregnancy. There are very few things a pregnant woman can’t do sexually. If you are having problems your practitioner may advise you to limit intercourse or orgasm, but the one thing that should never be done is to blow air into the vagina, it may cause a placental air embolism.

Article Resource:From Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE

Submitted by: Sarah Mack

High-Level Physical Activity And Labour During Pregnancy

There are many opinions floating around on the level of physical activity that’s acceptable for a pregnant woman. Many people still feel that rest is what you need the most, and while this is true, you may end up feeling restricted and caged at the self-imposed break from your favorite activities.

Certainly, you do want to be responsible about the choices you make regarding getting exercise or continuing to indulge in a sport or working at a job that’s more physical than others. Women often end up questioning what’s right or risky to partake in, and they wonder if they should give up physical activities.

The answer is both yes and no. Getting physical exercise is healthy for you and your baby, so reducing your levels to couch-potato status does neither you nor your child any good, and you may not be able to take leave from a strenuous job. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some activities that you should not perform if you know you are pregnant, as the risk of danger to yourself and your baby is high.

Judging whether you should take a break from an activity is something that requires common sense, and also depends on your evaluation of the situation. Creating a blanket restriction on exercise or physical labor isn’t really a good answer, as this choice can leave you not only out of shape for the upcoming birth, but also feeling frustrated and resentful.

People are far more active today than a few years ago and being involved in sports or seeing females in what used to be considered an all-male job is common. That does mean that there are employment positions that demand more physical labor and pregnant women should look at the effort of each task with their employer or a professional consultant.

Today’s way of living has left a lot of grey areas as to what’s considered safe and what’s considered a risk to your baby, but the truth is, women can do far more than simply going home to rest. While some tasks may be too risky to perform or need to be reduced to an acceptable level, there are plenty of jobs with physical elements that are just fine to continue with as long as you feel able.

While it’s true that the ultimate decision of continuing or taking a break from physical activities is your own, what’s important is that you be responsible enough to consider that you’re taking that decision for two people: You and your baby.

To help you make your choice about what’s safe and what isn’t, inform yourself via the internet or by asking your doctor which activities you should stop while you’re pregnant and which are acceptable to continue.

In the meantime, do use common sense. For example, if you’ve been lifting heavy weights at work, reduce the number of pounds you have to lift. If you’re avid in sports, make sure the ones you choose are low-impact and not prone to the risk of falling.

Source: Quality articles on Pregnancy - ArticleMuse.com
Author: Andi Michaels

Andi Michaels owns and writes regularly for Pregnancy And Family Planning where you can find more information and advice on all aspects of pregnancy. Go to How to Stay Healthy for information and advice on staying healthy generally

Before You Get Pregnant

There are several steps to take before trying to get pregnant. If you take care of these matters first, it is much more likely that you will have a successful pregnancy.

First, it is important to schedule an appoint with your obstetrician/gynecologist. You should have your annual check up that checks for cancer as well as be tested for all types of sexually transmitted diseases. This is important even if you are in a monogamous relationships as there are some STD’s that you can have that exhibit no symptoms. It is important to be treated for any infections before becoming pregnant. It is also important to find out how long you should wait after going off birth control before trying to get pregnant. Doctors advise waiting various amounts of time after stopping the pill for example. While you are at the doctors you should also find out how long to wait for fertility testing if you do not become pregnant. Some doctors advise a 3 month waiting period and some longer-as long as one year. You should find out from your doctor how long until they would consider testing you.

It is also important to practice proper nutrition when trying to become pregnant. Taking care of yourself is very important. You should take a vitamin-possibly even a pre-natal vitamin before you even try to become pregnant. One of the main vitamin you need during and more importantly before pregnancy is folic acid. Having enough of this in your system will help ensure a healthy baby. You should also limit your caffeine intake and quit smoking before becoming pregnant. Caffeine isn’t good for you or your baby and your doctor will likely advise you against drinking it while pregnant. It is better to try and wean yourself from it before becoming pregnant then wait until you are pregnant and go through the caffeine withdrawal symptoms as well as perhaps morning sickness.

It is very important to give up smoking before becoming pregnant. It is bad for the developing child as well as bad for the baby once they are born. The poor health effects on the mother are well documented also. Quitting smoking is very important for women who wish to become pregnant.

While trying to become pregnant, it is very important to limit alcohol and stop all drugs completely. There is about a two week window where you could be pregnant and not know it yet. Both alcohol and illegal and even some legal drugs can have devastating effects on a developing baby. It is a chance you do not want to take.

Jennie Crawford is the stay at home mom of two small children. For more information on getting pregnant go to http://www.jenniecrawford.com/ at home and click on the Getting Pregnant page.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennie_Crawford

Choosing The Right Fertility Specialist

Many women each and every day seek the advice and treatment of a fertility specialist in an attempt to conceive and carry a child of their own. There really is no miracle on earth that can quite compare to the birth of a child. Women in every nation will agree to the awe and wonder that can only come from bringing a new life into the world. For many women, that miracle seems like a very distant dream.

The good news is that there are fertility specialists who have devoted their entire medical practices and livelihood to making this dream a reality for these women so that the miracle of pregnancy and childbirth are available to a much greater segment of the population than in times past.

Fertility specialist must go through years of advanced study in order to bear that title. It is also important to remember that if you are noticing difficulty in conceiving that seeing a fertility specialist early on rather than later can save you both time and money in the long run. Specialists have knowledge of and experience with treatments that a general OB/GYN may not have experience with or be qualified to provide. Your chances of conceiving while under the care of a specialist are much greater than if you go it alone or with someone not really qualified in this particular area of medical practice.

There are several things that you should really look for in a fertility specialist and the first of those things is whether or not he or she seems to have a genuine concern for your ability to conceive. You want to feel that you are your doctors primary concern. Since this is a field of specialists and there is so much advanced training involved this will rarely be an issue but if it is, I suggest not going any further than introductions. You should also find out if he or she is a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist. Another question to ask is how long he or she has been treating infertility, if there are any advanced technologies his or her clinic offers, and when and where he or she received his or her training.

If you notice behavior that leads you to believe you are no longer the priority you feel you should be, you should begin seeking other options for fertility specialists. This is also true if your specialist encourages you to remain on a treatment that obviously isn’t working after several cycles, neglects to properly monitor your blood tests, or often forgets which treatment you are actually undergoing or needs to be reminded about details of your treatment plan.

When trying to conceive you are really the only one who is qualified to stand up for yourself. Now is a great time to develop those skills and tendencies, as you will be doing it for your tiny miracle for the next 60 or so years if you are fortunate. Do not be railroaded into a corner or intimidated by medical jargon. Make sure you understand what is going on and what will happen next if this doesn’t work. Push for information and details so that you aren’t waiting alone on the dark.

Source: Quality articles on Pregnancy - ArticleMuse.com
Author: Melvin Ng

For more info on fertility and fertility specialist, please visit our website. Thefertilityspecialist