Pregnancy ‘honeymoon period’ is shorter than previously thought, study says

The second trimester of pregnancy is often referred to the ‘honeymoon period’ because sickness symptoms start to fade and the desire to have sex returns. 

But a new study suggests that the window of opportunity for sex during this trimester is shorter than previously thought. 

Researchers surveyed more than 200 US women about how often they had sex during each week of their pregnancy. 

Overall, the probability of sexual intercourse increased during around 60 per cent of the second trimester.

This is something of a surprise, because the whole of the second trimester has commonly been considered prime time for sex. 

‘Our findings show that pregnancy and sexual intercourse frequency have a more complex relationship than previously understood,’ said lead study author, Shari M. Blumenstock at Indiana University.

‘We hope the results will help clinicians provide beneficial information about the fluctuations of sexual behaviour during pregnancy, and spread awareness around potential sudden declines in sexual frequency, which can in turn prepare or reassure women and partners alike.’ 

For many pregnant women, the first trimester of pregnancy – 0 to 13 weeks – is characterised by symptoms including nausea, vomiting, fatigue, constipation, cramps and more. 

However, during the second trimester – 14 to 26 weeks – many of these pregnancy symptoms disappear or reduce. 

Women get much of their energy back in the second trimester and often find their libido increases, leading to couples rekindling their sex life. 

The NHS says it’s ‘perfectly safe’ for women to have sex during their pregnancy unless a doctor or midwife has told them not to, although some expecting couples abstain from sex completely. 

According to the study authors, differences in sexual frequency during pregnancy have already been documented in studies that only surveyed once per trimester. 

Therefore, they wanted to assess changes in the frequency of sexual intercourse more regularly, across all weeks of pregnancy. 

In all, 237 women aged between 18 and 22 took part in an interview and weekly follow-up surveys on how often they’d had sex. 

Across the whole pregnancy period, sexual intercourse frequency declined in general, in line with common pregnancy symptoms such as fatigue and nausea, the researchers found. 

They then looked at how sexual intercourse probability fluctuated in the three trimesters by analysing the raw data with computer models. 

Overall, the probability of sexual intercourse declined sharply – around 18 per cent each week – between conception and 11 weeks, which is during the first trimester. 

It subsequently increased by around 3 per cent each week between weeks 11 and 21 (the tail end of the first trimester and ending before the end of the second trimester). 

But from week 22, the probability of sexual intercourse then declined steadily (6 per cent each week) through the end of pregnancy until birth.

Interestingly, the study was the first to show that stark fluctuations within trimesters correspond to pregnancy symptoms, which increase up to the first 11 weeks and then subside. 

The experts say documenting ‘more precise patterns of change in sexual frequency’ will be important to expecting couples ‘who wish to maintain sexual intimacy’ during the pregnancy period.  

They also acknowledge that the limited age range of the participants (18 to 22) are ‘less likely to have issues with sexual dysfunction’ and therefore may have skewed the results.

‘Any changes in sexual frequency are less likely to be related to aging-related sexual issues or pregnancy complications,’ they say. 

The new study has been published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.