Is Having Sex During Pregnancy a Good Idea?

The nine months of pregnancy are like nothing you’ve ever experienced. It’s normal to be bombarded by varied emotions, from anxiety to excitement and from intense love to extreme anger… all within hours of each other! Apart from mood swings, you may also be coping with nausea, low energy and sleep deprivation.

While going through an emotional and physical rollercoaster ride, sex might be the last thing on your mind. In fact, your first priority would be to do what you believe is right for the baby. If you’re living in a metro like Bangalore, you probably already have the best gynecologist in Bangalore and maybe even joined yoga classes to ensure a smooth delivery. Many couples, especially women, would not consider sex a priority at such a time.

In fact, many couples abstain from getting physically intimate fearing that they may harm the baby in some way. The good news is that sex will not only not harm your baby, but may also be good for your and your baby’s health.

Myths About Sex During Pregnancy

Here are a few things parents-to-be worry about and should not:

• Sex can cause vaginal infections: If you have the same partner, the chances are low. Moreover, the most common vaginal infection is not an STD. A high level of hygiene needs to be maintained if you’re pregnant, irrespective of whether you’re having sex.
• Intercourse will hurt the baby: Your body has a number of natural shields that protect your baby from internal and external pressures. Your womb is made of exceptionally strong muscles and your baby is surrounding by the amniotic sac (a bag filled with fluid).
• Sex causes preterm labor: On the contrary, intercourse has proved to lower the chance of a premature delivery. 

Benefits of Sex for Pregnant Women

• Develops a Bond Between the Partners: It’s normal for the husband-wife relationship to go through ups and downs during pregnancy. Having sex releases oxytocin, or the cuddle hormone, which strengthens the bond between a woman and her man.
• Better Orgasms: Some women have experienced better climaxes during pregnancy. The reason could be the increased blood flow into the pelvic area, which heightens sensation.
• Calming Effect: Intercourse has a calming effect, helping you sleep better and keeping your blood pressure in check.
• Keeps the Child Safe: A unique protein in semen prevents pre-eclampsia in women. 

Do note that all these benefits of intercourse are in the case of a normal pregnancy. If there are complications, intercourse can cause harm. In either case, it is best to consult a gynecologist before you have intercourse with your partner. Of course, this is a great time to hug and kiss a lot, and have oral sex.

3 Tips to Take Care of Your Feet

There is more to buying a shoe than making a fashion choice. While most of us are completely concerned with the way our footwear looks with just a passing nod to general comfort, what we don't know is that selecting shoes is as much of a medical or health choice as it is a fashion or aesthetic choice.

Let us look at the choice in a different way. If you had to walk the length of the Earth's circumference four times in your entire life, would you rather wear fashionable shoes or comfortable ones? At the end of your life, you would have covered more than one lakh kilometers on foot!! Can you imagine the cumulative damage done in this period by wearing high heels, cramped shoes or ones with inadequate support for your feet?

Maintenance for Your Feet

Tip # 1: If you think the women in the hit TV serial Sex in the City look good in high heels, think again. In 2009, a survey by the American Podiatric Medical Association found that 88% of women were buying shoes that were too small for their feet against all sensibilities of proper foot care.

It seems to be a common misconception that shoving your feet into a pair of beautiful shoes will make them healthy and beautiful. The fact of the matter is that more than 65 % of women have not had their shoe size checked properly in more than 3 years. Add the fact that different shoe makers have differing measurement systems, clearly one size no longer suits all. Each time you stand up, your feet increase up to two sizes. Now imagine their plight in a tight pair of high heels.

Tip # 2: Hydrate your feet. The sole of the foot requires plenty of moisture for the skin to remain soft and supple and be able to stretch to meet the various forces that play on the feet. Without proper foot care your skin will crack and you will run the risk of painful walking and even fungal infections. The fact that the foot has over 2,500,000 sweat glands does not help at all. In fact, if your feet are sweaty, you are not moisturizing your feet, instead you are providing the right conditions for a fungal infection to take root and grow. Use foot creams such as Scholl Foot & Nail Cream to clean and rehydrate your feet.

Tip # 3: Keep your feet private. Community spaces such as hostels, swimming pools and common showers have been known to cause infections such as athlete's foot. Avoid sharing your shoes, socks, stockings and towels.