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Pregnant Sex
Oversized and oversexed?
Oh, I love those articles that spill forth from pregnancy magazines. From what you read, you'd think that every pregnant woman and her partner are romping all over the bedroom, slathering each other in massage oils and revelling in her new, feminine body. Never mind the whopping bump or mammoth bosoms: infinite new positions apparently make sex possible right up until the contractions begin.
In fact, we're led to believe that pregnancy actually enhances sex. After all, there are no fiddly/messy contraceptives to deal with: no rubbery diaphragm, or twanging condoms. How wonderful to sling that gunky spermicidal gel to the back of the wardrobe. So what's stopping you diving on your partner this minute? The reason - as any pregnant woman knows - is that everything feels different.
Too weird altogether
For one thing: his smell. The baby may be little bigger than a grape, but your senses are going haywire. 'My man's natural body smell - and our perfectly clean bedclothes - would be enough to trigger a nausea attack,' admits Jo. 'Suddenly, I couldn't go near him without retching. He smelt sort of meaty - horrible. I couldn't contemplate sex without getting him to shower first, and that killed any spontaneity.'
Jane, who's five months pregnant, admits to a plummeting libido too. 'We still do it, but it's weird, you know? You're knackered for the first three months and any chance you get, you find yourself conking out. I get home from work and see the bed and think: ah, sleep. Having sex just seems like a terrible waste of good sleeping time.'
She says her partner has started acting oddly too. 'Instead of diving on top of me and being nicely relaxed about the whole thing, he's all nervous, like he's scared of hurting me or the baby.' In fact, many friends describe sex during pregnancy as similar to those teenage fumblings from way back: it all feels new, different and slightly grubby.
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