Free Sex Tips
Newsletter
Sex Tips
Free email
Accounts
SexTherapy
Books
Philosophy
Workshops
Advertise w/us
Warning
ContactUs
To post our content on your website
____
How
To
Have
Good
Sex!
Past Tips |
|
Pregnancy
HTHGS:
Mucus Plug & Sex (written by Dr. Pluhar)
Ask Dr. Pluhar,
I was curious
if it is safe to have sex after you have lost your mucous plug when pregnant.
Char Soria
Dear Char,
Thanks for the
excellent question. As a quick review, the mucus plug is a thick accumulation
of cervical secretions, which forms throughout pregnancy and blocks
the cervix (opening to the uterus). During pregnancy, the mucus plug helps
protect the developing fetus by deterring the passage of bacteria into
the uterus. Thus, except for women with certain health
conditions (such as risk of premature labor), clinicians generally consider
sexual intercourse safe because the fetus is protected by the mucus plug.
After you lose the mucus plug, however, or after the membranes rupture
(your "water breaks"), the fetus becomes more vulnerable to infection.
Therefore, it is not considered safe to have penile-vaginal intercourse (or any
penetration in the vagina) after the mucus plug is released. There may be
other sexual activities that you and your partner could do at this stage of
pregnancy, such as light massage on the external genitals, touching, kissing, or
others that do not involve vaginal penetration. Check with your clinician
if you want to be sure, at any stage of pregnancy, what sexual activities
would be considered safe for you, your partner, and your developing baby.
For
more information on sexuality, pregnancy, and motherhood, you may wish to
check out a wonderful book called "A Mother's Guide to Sex"
by Anne Semans and Cathy Winks (Three Rivers Press, 2001).
Best
of luck, Dr. Erika Pluhar
|