Can Sex Bring On Preterm Labor?

Posted: 13. May, 2011 0

Men frequently become concerned that sex and sexual positions can influence preterm birth, or that they might be injuring the baby during intercourse. With regard to preterm birth, there is a small chance that sex can start contractions because of two factors: the male semen and the female orgasm. The male semen contains a chemical compound called prostaglandin, a chemical used in medicinal form to induce labor. One study showed that male semen contains a wide range of amounts of prostaglandin in the semen, ranging from 2 to 272 micrograms. The amount not only varies among men but varies between one man’s different ejaculations as well. The usual dose for labor induction is 25 to 50 micrograms administered vaginally as a small tablet.

The bottom-line question here is: Should you avoid intercourse if you’ve already had a previous pregnancy with a preterm birth? Most clinicians will advise you not to have sex if you’re having preterm contractions and preterm labor. Well, what about if you’ve had a preterm birth in the past? In one study, 187 pregnant women between sixteen and eighteen weeks pregnant who had previously had a preterm birth were asked about their sexual history. Thirty-eight percent of the women reporting higher frequency of sex had preterm labor while 28 percent of those reporting little or no sex had preterm labor. The physicians involved in this study have stated that sexual intercourse during pregnancy is “probably okay” for women with a history of preterm birth. Listed exceptions to this rule would be those women with a cervical cerclage (a stitch placed in the cervix to keep I it closed), ruptured membranes, or a prematurely dilated cervix. If you have a risk factor for preterm labor, it would be wise to ask your healthcare provider his or her opinion as to whether or not intercourse is safe.

Yvonne and her husband came to the office for a routine visit with no complications, but they had a question. Yvonne looked at me and asked me to tell her husband that he wasn’t hurting the baby when they had sex. Her husband looked like the Incredible Hulk, a big muscular guy that stood six foot two inches tall and weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds. After I wiped an anxious bead of sweat from my brow, I explained to him the anatomy and length of the vagina and how it can accommodate most male anatomy, and that the baby was safely hidden behind the cervix so there was no chance of him hitting the baby with his penis.

“I not worried about hitting the baby with my penis, Doc,” he laughed. “I’m worried that when I lie on her I’m crushing the kid.”

We both laughed as only a couple of men could do, and then I explained to him how the baby was safe in its bag of amniotic fluid and unless he was putting all of his weigh on her for an extended period of time, the baby wasn’t feeling any of the pressure.

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