By Gunjan Chaudhary

Sex is a part of life and everyone needs it. But when it comes to have sex during periods it becomes a debate. Every woman gets a menstrual cycle once a month for a time of 4-9 days. There is no need to avoid sexual activities during the menstrual cycle as it offers various advantages. Even the pleasure of having sex increases during periods. There is a study which shows that most women get on during periods. Come and let’s discuss it in detail.

Sex during periods can be a bit messy but they offer various benefits. Benefits of having sex during periods:

When you have sex during periods the orgasm relieves your cramps. During orgasm, muscles of your uterus contract and release and they bring relief.
Sex releases chemicals called endorphins that makes you feel good and happy during periods.
Muscle contraction during orgasm pushes out uterine contents faster that leads to shorter periods.
Libido changes throughout the menstrual cycle and it increases the sex drive.
You don’t need any lubrication as the period acts as natural lubrication.
Sex during periods can relieve your headache particularly the menstrual migraines.
It strengthens the immune system.

But when we are talking about the benefits of sex during periods it comes with the side effects also. Few side effects are:

Having sex during periods is a big mess to you, to the sheets and to your partner as well, especially when you are experiencing a heavy flow. Anxiety over the mess created can take half or your full fun out of the sex.
STI like HIV and hepatitis risk increases when you have sex during periods. Viruses live in blood and they spread through contact with infected menstrual blood to the other person. But use of condoms can decrease these threats.

There are two type of infections that may cause due to sex during periods.

STI like HIV
Changes in normal vaginal flora example yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis. Yeast infection spread through vaginal penal sex causing head of penis become inflamed. This condition is called balanitis.

There is always a doubt, whether having sex during periods can make you pregnant or is it completely safe. Although the chances of getting pregnant during these periods are really less, it is still possible to get pregnant. A girl is more likely to get pregnant during the ovulation period which is 14 days before your period starts. It is different for different women. For women who have a short menstrual cycle the risk of pregnancy is higher during periods. Sperms are alive for 7 days in a woman’s body, if there is a cycle of 22 days, and if you ovulate soon after getting periods, there is a chance you will be releasing an egg while supreme are still in your reproductive tract. Following ovulation eggs can stay alive in the fallopian tube for 24 hours. So there is a high risk of pregnancy.

Although pregnancy can be avoided by using protection. The use of protection not only prevents pregnancy but it also acts as a guard against STI, HIV, etc. As HIV lives in menstrual blood. Use the proper protection and enjoy your sex!