Читать книгу Blooming Birth: How to get the pregnancy and birth you want - Lucy Atkins - Страница 22

Keep a limb out of the water during your bath and lift your body out for a bit if you feel too hot or sweaty.

SEX | Unless you have a contra-indicating medical condition (for example, you have a low lying placenta, your waters have broken early or you have been warned by your doctor to abstain for any other reason) normal sexual intercourse will not harm your baby. Many women, particularly in mid-pregnancy, feel seriously sexy. Since most of us have a low sex drive after pregnancy (for up to a couple of years!) make the most of any rampant phases you may have. Many men, paradoxically, can’t look this gift horse in the mouth: the most common fear among male partners is that their penis’s head will ‘bump the baby’. Luckily no man – no matter how impressively large he is down there – is that well-endowed. He’d have to get through the vagina, mucus plug and cervix, into the uterus then through the amniotic sac before he could do any damage to your baby. This is simply not going to happen. It is, however, best to avoid really forceful or deep penetration – this can be uncomfortable, for a start. Nor will the weight of your partner squeeze the baby out (if only it did medical induction would be distinctly less common). The best tip is to experiment with positions: side-lying, your partner behind you, you on top of him – any angle really, once the missionary position gets tricky. Your orgasm will not make you miscarry (unless you are at risk of premature labour, in which case talk to your midwife). A vibrator is fine, too. There are no studies to show a vibrator cannot be used during pregnancy. But – brace yourself here if you’re squeamish – introducing germs into the vagina during pregnancy is not a good idea, so clean your vibrator well and don’t mix orifices.