Sex in late pregnancy myth debunked

[Posted: Sun 04/06/2006 - www.irishhealth.com]

Having sex during the final weeks of pregnancy will not help to bring on labour. In fact, the opposite may be true, the results of a new study suggest.

Researchers set out to investigate the widely held belief that sex during late pregnancy can bring on labour. They studied 93 women, half of whom reported having sex in the final weeks of their pregnancies.

They found that those who were sexually active in the final three weeks of their pregnancies carried their babies for an average of 39.9 weeks. Those who abstained from sex in their final weeks carried their babies for 39.3 weeks.

The women were asked about their sex lives in the weeks preceding the birth. They also underwent cervical examinations to gauge whether the sexual activity had a 'ripening' effect on the cervix.

However the researchers found no link between the frequency of sex and any changes in the cervix. These lack of changes, combined with the lack of difference in delivery dates suggests that sex does not induce labour, according to the study's author, Dr Jonathan Schaffir of Ohio State University Medical Centre.

"Patients may continue to hear the old wives' tale that intercourse will hasten labour, but according to this data, they should not hear it from the medical community", Dr Schaffir said.

Details of the study are published in the journal, Obstetrics & Gynecology.

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http://www.irishhealth.com/clin/pregnancy/