Sexual Aspects of High-Risk and Complicated Pregnancy

Abstract

In a healthy pregnancy, the best response to sexual insecurity is reassurance and telling the couple that they can continue to be sexually active. When the situation gets complicated, things can be different. This chapter elaborates on the sexual risks in conditions such as premature birth, shortened cervix, placental dysfunction, and multiple gestation. It will delineate the relationship between various sexual activities and their potential influence on the uterus and the pregnancy. The chapter will also address how to communicate when specific sexual acts should be discouraged (or forbidden) and simultaneously give room for other sexual acts, in other words: the sexual do’s and don’ts. Midwives and HCPs must be aware of the cultural taboos between the woman and the couple regarding sexuality and pregnancy. It is a common finding in research that patients have many questions about sex but do not ask them. The consequence is that the professional must anticipate when providing information, as it were, by ‘answering the not-asked questions’. This chapter provides the background information needed to do just that in high-risk and complicated pregnancies.This chapter is part of ‘Midwifery and Sexuality’, a Springer Nature open-access textbook for midwives and related healthcare professionals.