Alright Ladies, here it is… If you want your baby to arrive early you need to have sex with your husbands at least once a week after 36 weeks of conception.
A study conducted in Malaysia shows that, women who have sexual intercourse during late pregnancy are more likely than abstinent women to have a spontaneous delivery at 38 to 40 weeks and less likely to require labor induction.
It is commonly believed that intercourse hastens labor, but very little research has been published to confirm this theory.
The study followed 200 healthy, married women with uncomplicated pregnancies completed diaries regarding sexual activity beginning at week 36 of pregnancy. Those who hadn’t delivered by 41 weeks were induced.
The women’s diaries showed that 116 (58 percent) of women had intercourse in late pregnancy an average of four times. Twenty-five women required labor induction because of prolonged pregnancy.
The results showed that 6.9 percent of sexually active women had not delivered by 41 weeks, compared with 29.8 percent of abstinent women.
After factors such as ethnicity, education, occupation, perception of coital safety and husbands’ age were taken into account, women who had sexual intercourse were 90 percent more likely to have delivered by 41 weeks and almost 100% were less likely to require labor induction compared with women not engaging in sexual intercourse.
The research team also found that it the women had sex more than once per week, the pregnancy was prolonged and an induction was needed.
Although sexual intercourse was recommended as a means of avoiding labor induction, they add that “in potentially compromised pregnancies caution has to be applied because the effect of intercourse and orgasm has been described as being similar to an oxytocin contraction stress test.”
I am not sure who wants to have intercourse at 36 weeks pregnant. Most women I know can’t walk properly or tie their own shoes !! I guess if means that they baby will come sooner…we may “take one for the team”, if nessecary.
SOURCE:Reuters
