Contrary to popular belief, a new study says sex during the last stages of pregnancy does not help in speeding up labor, Reuters reported.
A team of researchers from Malaysia observed more than 1,100 pregnant women. All the participants were between 35 and 38 weeks pregnant. Nearly half of the participants were advised to engage in sex more frequently to examine whether it can help in inducing labor early.
At the end of the study, a majority of women, (85 per cent) in the group, reported having intercourse in the last stages of pregnancy. Almost all participants of the study gave birth only by 39 weeks of gestational age.
Researchers found only minor difference of rates of induced labor between women who engaged in sex (22 percent) and the other group (20.8 percent) who abstained from sex.
"We are a little disappointed that we did not find an association," Dr. Tan Peng Chiong, an obstetrics and gynecology professor at the University of Malaya, and one of the authors of the study, told Reuters Health. "It would have been nice for couples to have something safe, effective and perhaps even fun that they could use themselves to help go into labor a little earlier if (they) wanted."
Unlike previous studies that depended solely upon participant's reports, the current study that split the experiences into different groups may be more reliable, experts said.
The study helped in removing the unnecessary concern of having sex during pregnancy.
"Even though this study did not show any increase in the rate of labor or a decrease in the rate of induction, it helped to cement the idea that having sex is probably safe if you want it," Dr. Jonathan Schaffir, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, who has studied obstetrical folklore, told Reuters Health.
The study is published online in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
