Sex and Pregnancy: A Descriptive Analysis of Partnered and Solo Sexual Activity among Two Samples of Women

Background: Previous literature has documented sexual practices of pregnant women, yet the majority of work has focused on penile-vaginal intercourse in women whose sexual partners are male.  The purpose of this study was to examine sexual behaviors among two samples of pregnant women, those who are currently partnered with women (WSW) and those who are partnered with men (WSM).

Methods: Quantitative, online survey data was collected from two US samples: Study 1) 162 pregnant women currently partnered with women and Study 2) 128 pregnant women currently partnered with men. Data include socio-demographic characteristics and frequency of sexual behaviors including the use of sexual enhancement products.

Results:  75.9% of WSW identified as lesbian and 95.1% of WSM identified as straight.  The majority of WSW (91.3%) and all of WSM reported being in a monogamous relationship. Among WSW, women indicated past month behaviors including receptive genital rubbing (71.9%), genital scissoring (56.1%), receptive vaginal fingering (61.2%) and receptive cunnilingus (56.1%). Past month behaviors for WSM were also varied with over half of women engaging in vaginal intercourse (56.1%), cunnilingus (50.4%), and vaginal fingering (50.2%).  Almost all (91.3%) WSW reported using a vibrator during the past month, while only 25.8% of WSM reported the same.

Conclusions: Pregnant women in both studies reported engaging in a range of diverse sexual behaviors including the use of vibrators. These findings suggest that women continue to have active sexual lives into pregnancy, although WSW might be more likely to use a sex toy use during pregnancy.