Menopause and Sex

By SheCares Editorial Team | Updated: Jun 18, 2020

Menopause does not signal the end of female sexuality. It is only hormonal imbalance that changes a woman's body, but this doesn't mean the stop for your sex life. A fulfilled sexual relationship depends on various physical and emotional factors and how well both partners cope with them. 

Menopause and Sex

As many women have experienced, there is a difference between a woman's sexual desire during menopause and after this transition. The term 'during menopause' includes all stages until the loss of menstruation and 'after menopause' means at the stage postmenopause starting from the end of the periods.

Changes in a woman's sexual desire and function during the transition menopause can have many influencing physical and emotional factors. Sexual interest or libido doesn't depend just on the unbalanced hormonal levels during the 'change of life'. Stresses of daily life, poor physical health, marital conflict or psychological problems, like changes in body image, relationship problems and changing sexual expectations can affect sexual wellbeing as well as common menopause symptoms including vaginal dryness, fatigue, sleep disturbances, hot flashes or irregular periods, which can make the timing of spontaneous love-making difficult. Below you can see some lifestyle tips for menopause and sex. 

  • Reduce alcohol and eliminate smoking
  • A balanced diet and regular exercise increase sexual desire.
  • Accept changes of aging and be more comfortable with yourself.
  • Try natural treatments to cope with menopause symptoms.
  • Spend more time during foreplay.
  • Communicate openly with your partner.
  • Try out various positions that cause less pain. 

From late premenopause to the end of perimenopause, menstrual periods may be difficult to predict and widely spaced, but women are still producing eggs. That means a woman can still get pregnant when she is in perimenopause. In fact, menopause isn't technically reached until menstrual periods have ceased for one full year. Until that point is reached, a perimenopause pregnancy is still possible. 

After menopause (postmenopause) a lot of women have described a new relationship to sex as being "the most emotionally and sexually satisfying." Many of them have acknowledged that their sexual desire increased with age. Couples can in fact have better sex life after menopause since there is an end to menstrual cycle and consequently natural pregnancy is not possible any longer.

It is believed that postmenopausal women are more likely to be orgasmic than younger females, thus they gained a great deal of love-making experience and skill and are now able to quit worrying about contraception and unpleasant menopause symptoms.

Do you experience low sex drive?

Learn more about the natural ways of treatment to cope low sex drive and have a healthier sexual life. Click here to read about the treatments for low sex drive.