Sex during your period is one of those things that gets labeled as “definitely not happening” without anyone being able to explain exactly why. The squeamishness is real. The medical justification, largely, is not.
Dr. Jane Van Dis, a board-certified OBGYN and medical expert for Flex, spoke with VICE about what’s actually behind the aversion. “The public’s discomfort with period sex is cultural rather than biological,” she says. “Menstruation has been treated as something that should be managed privately and, in some cultures, has been associated with shame.” The one legitimate medical concern that should be noted is STI transmission—unprotected sex during menstruation carries elevated risk, since the cervicovaginal barrier is disrupted and viral concentrations in menstrual blood run higher than in vaginal secretions alone. A condom handles that.
The orgasm-shortens-your-period claim is one you’ve probably seen floating around, and Van Dis says the underlying logic is sound, if not yet proven. Orgasms trigger uterine contractions through oxytocin release, “which could theoretically accelerate the expulsion of menstrual blood and endometrial tissue, making the period end sooner.” The operative word is theoretically—she’s clear that this hasn’t been validated in clinical studies. What’s better established is the cramp relief angle. Menstrual cramps are prostaglandin-driven contractions that restrict blood flow to uterine muscle. Orgasms flood the brain with endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin. “Although both involve uterine contractions,” Van Dis explains, “the pattern of contraction and the brain’s interpretation of the signals are very different.”
Is Period Sex Safe? An OB-GYN Says the Biggest Problem Is Cultural
Tampons and cups have one thing in common when it comes to sex: they have to come out first. Menstrual discs, like Flex, don’t—because unlike the other two, they sit in the vaginal fornix rather than the canal, leaving it completely unobstructed for penetration. That anatomical difference also comes with an unexpected bonus. Van Dis notes that the disc’s rim can provide gentle pressure against the anterior fornix erogenous zone, or A-spot—located deep on the front wall of the vagina, farther in than the G-spot—and for some people, that stimulation is “pleasurable and highly arousing.” Sensitivity varies, but it’s not nothing.
As for the libido spike many people notice before or during their period, Van Dis confirms it’s legitimate. In the late luteal phase, estrogen and progesterone drop sharply from their mid-cycle peaks, and “some people experience a libido rebound, possibly related to changes in brain sensitivity to sex hormones, relief from premenstrual symptoms, increased pelvic blood flow, or individual psychological and relationship factors.” The most hormonally reliable spike, she notes, is still around ovulation. But the premenstrual one? “Real, just not universally so.”
Period sex was never the problem. What people were taught about it was. There’s no medical authority standing between you and a better time—just a very persistent cultural flinch.
The post What to Know About Period Sex, According to an OB-GYN appeared first on VICE.
