Breast Feeding and Sexuality

While women have long shared stories of how breastfeeding changes their sex lives, researchers have been slow to investigate the specific ways that breastfeeding impacts women’s sexuality.

The study surveyed 576 women who were breastfeeding their first child and followed them up to twelve months postpartum. While the study is limited due to the narrow group of women involved it still offers some important information about the experience of breastfeeding women and their partners when it comes to sex.

The first thing researchers discovered was that there are few, if any, generalizations to be made about the impact of breastfeeding on a woman’s sexuality. Women’s responses varied widely, and rarely was there a majority experience. About half of the respondents reported a decrease in sexual interest and about half reported no decrease. The same split was found for women reporting changes in sexual activity.

One of the only generalizations researchers found was that sex is important to women postpartum. 71% of the women surveyed said that it was important to them that sexual interest return soon after having a baby.

Through their review of the literature and their own research, the authors outlined the variety of ways that breastfeeding can impact a woman’s sexuality:
Physical changes that may impact sexuality:
* Changes in breast size and tenderness
* Healing perineum or abdomen after a vaginal or cesarean birth
* Milk leaking during arousal and sex play

Hormonal changes that may impact sexuality:
* Breastfeeding is associated with increases in prolactin and oxytocin, and decreases in estrogen all of which can have varied impacts on desire, arousal, and orgasm
* Decreased estrogen usually causes decreased vaginal lubrication which can impact sexual behaviors.

Fatigue:
This was the reason most commonly given for a decrease in sexual activity after the birth of a child. Fatigue can both impact sexual desire as well as overall sexual self-image.

Partner’s attitudes:
Much has been written about the sexualization of women’s breasts in North American society. While breasts serve an obvious function they are discussed more in the West as a sexual object to be “prized” in particular by male partners. Increased breast size, and milk production and expression (which often happens during sexual arousal) can impact the way a partner perceives their breastfeeding partner. These attitudes can have an impact on how a woman who is breastfeeding feels about herself.

Social attitudes:
Most women experience the sexualization of their breasts at some point in their lives. It’s inevitable given a culture that is, arguably, breast obsessed. When the breasts change in function and size, some women will experience a change in social attitudes as they breastfeed, particularly when they breastfeed in public, and these attitudes can also have an impact on the way a woman feels about herself sexually.

Reference:
Avery, M.D., Duckett, L., Frantzich, C.R. “The Experience of Sexuality During Breastfeeding Among Primiparous Women.” Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health Vol. 45, 2000 227-236.

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