Share

Sex won’t trigger labour

A new study calls into question the folk wisdom that having sex late in pregnancy can help bring on labour.

Women who had sex a few days before they were scheduled for labour induction were no more likely to go into labour spontaneously than women who didn't have intercourse, Dr Peng Chiong Tan of the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and colleagues found.

But this study is not the final word on the subject, Tan cautioned. "Further research in this area is needed - particularly in a less 'pressure cooker' situation than where labour induction was already scheduled for shortly ahead," Tan noted in comments to Reuters Health. "It is possible that regular sex a little earlier on, say from 36-37 weeks onward, might have a different effect."

Biological explanations
There are good biological explanations for the widespread belief that having sex can bring on labour, Tan and colleagues note in the medical journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. For example, semen contains the hormone prostaglandin, which is used to induce labour, while orgasm can bring on contractions in the uterus. But there is virtually no scientific evidence that sexual intercourse near the end of pregnancy can jump-start labour.

The investigators randomly assigned 210 women scheduled for labour induction to a group who were advised to have sex as much as possible before their induction, or to a control group who were told that it would be safe for them to have sex but that it wasn't clear whether intercourse could bring on labour. Women received the advice 4.7 days before their induction was scheduled, on average.

Among the 108 women advised to have sex, 60 percent did so, compared to 40 percent of the 102 women in the control group. But among women who had intercourse, 56 percent went into labour on their own, compared to 52 percent of those who didn't have sex, which was not a statistically significant difference.

"We speculate that women very close to spontaneous labour felt changes coming on that might reduce their libido," for example pains and vaginal discharge, Tan told Reuters Health. "If correct, this would mean that those women who had sex were the least likely to go into spontaneous labour soon, so they would do less well in terms of spontaneous labour as an outcome in the next few days. We did not have direct data to answer this question satisfactorily, however."

"Based on the findings of our study, women scheduled for induction of labour at term should not be given advice to have sex for the purpose of promoting labour onset," the investigators conclude.

SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology, October 2007.

Read more:
Pregnancy Centre
Sex Zone

October 2007

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE