How to enjoy pregnancy sex

Sex. Before you were pregnant, it was exciting, hopefully intimate and definitely fun. Remember the eager excitement that you used to approach it with? After all, that is how you got pregnant. But it can be different once you are expecting.

Of course, sexuality in the first trimester can be as dusty as the Sahara desert in dry season. Between morning sickness and the associated fatigue, it's just about the last thing on your mind. Seriously.

But when the second trimester hits, it's like the body gods flip a little switch for sexual alertness ... suddenly, for many women, you just cannot get enough. (If you aren't interested in sex, don't worry, that is normal too ...) With the changes to your body (we are talking more than just belly bumps here!), intimacy can be a very wild, crazy, unexpected joy. Grab your partner (and assure him that it's safe and won't harm baby!) and get busy!

So, what's so great about pregnancy sex?

Fabulous flexibility

Get ready for new abilities with your joints! Even if you weren't the most flexible person before, during pregnancy, your body naturally produces a hormone that essentially makes you be able to stretch more and generally loosens up your body parts. It's intended to make you flexible for delivery but it has a pleasant side effect for intercourse.

"Too much time running and being active and not enough time doing yogo/pilates/stretching means I'm normally a fairly inflexible person. Once my body started producing relaxin (hormone that relaxes all your ligaments) I become considerably more flexible and was able to get into some 'interesting' and very satisfying positions," said Beth Beauchemin of Bellies 2 Babies.

Body is a wonderland

The body undergoes so many changes during pregnancy. Of course, you have this new belly bump. But that isn't the only part of your body to change after pregnancy. Your breasts are likely to balloon to sizes that would make even the randiest teenager blush a crimson red. Your hips widen a bit, giving you exciting new curves to explore ... and that can be very exciting for your man.

"[My husband] loved my pregnant body and made sure that I knew it," said Traci Olsen.

(P.S. your other lady parts are also likely to feel different, since your vagina undergoes major changes during pregnancy. Among those changes: increased sensitivity, which can mean lots of good things for you ... and, yes, we mean lots!)

Finding new positions

The changing shape of your body can make your usual go-to positions not so easy to do. But fear not. With all the flexibility and the changing shape of your body, it's an open call to find new and exciting positions to liven up your sex life. Finding those new positions can be a wildly fun experience in of itself too. "It was also interesting finding new positions, which was very necessary after a while," says Traci.

Conception-stress-free

The road to getting pregnant can be filled with lots of worrying and stressing about whether what you were doing was the 'right' way to maximize chances of success. (Or, if you weren't trying, you may have been worrying anyway - but about if you were doing enough to prevent success). Whatever the case, pregnancy sex is free from all of that. One mom, Rosalie, said that "not worrying about getting pregnant," was the best part of pregnancy sex for her ...

Check with your doctor

Be sure to consult with your doctor about sex to be sure that you are safe from any risk factors that could make sex dangerous for baby.

Read More:

• Pregnancy sex tips: Keeping the spark alive
• Sex during pregnancy
• Spa treatments while pregnant: Safety tips