Menopause and sex
Menopause and sex
What is menopause?
Menopause
is your final period.
As you approach menopause, your reproductive hormones (e.g. oestrogen) drop. Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. In Australia, the average age to reach menopause is 51 to 52.
How does menopause affect your sex life?
Changes around the time of menopause can affect your
sex drive (libido)
and sexual experience.
Physical changes with menopause
Menopause symptoms
You may be less interested in sex due to symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, low energy levels,
sleep
problems and low mood.
Vaginal changes
A drop in oestrogen levels causes the walls of the vagina to be thinner and drier, which may cause vaginal irritation and pain during sex.
Bladder and pelvic floor changes
Changes to
bladder
tissues and
pelvic floor muscles
can cause
continence problems
(e.g. wee leakage), which can reduce sexual desire.
Sexual experience
Physical changes and lower sexual desire can make it harder to have an orgasm and sexual experiences may feel less pleasurable.
Body image and menopause
You might feel differently about your body around the time of menopause. This may be due to:
social attitudes – modern society rarely portrays older women as sexual or desirable, which can affect the way women feel about themselves
weight gain – many
women gain weight
around their belly (abdomen) at this stage of life, which may make them feel less sexually attractive.
Life stages
Other factors can affect your sexual desire at this stage of life. For example:
poor health
anxiety
and
depression
medicines and their side effects
sexual problems (e.g. partner’s erection issues).
Other factors may include:
relationship issues
loss of a partner through death, separation or divorce
work and financial pressures
caring for elderly parents.
Managing low sexual desire
If you’re concerned about how menopause is affecting your sexual desire, talk to your
doctor
. They may suggest
menopausal hormone therapy (MHT)
, vaginal moisturisers, lubricants or oestrogen to improve vaginal dryness.
Testosterone therapy
Some women become very distressed about their loss of sexual desire, which may be a condition called hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). Testosterone therapy may help. This therapy should be supervised by your doctor.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy
Sometimes
pelvic floor muscles
can tighten or lose tone at menopause. This can cause painful sex, aching,
incontinence
or prolapse (i.e. the
bladder
,
uterus
or bowel protrudes into the vagina). A pelvic floor physiotherapist can teach you pelvic floor muscle exercises and show you techniques to help reduce pain.
Other practical ideas
There are practical things you can do to help maintain or improve your sex life after menopause. For example, if you have a partner:
talk to them about your symptoms and how they affect you
try different ways to be intimate, like spending time together doing things you both enjoy
consider relationship counselling if needed.
Contraception
As you age, your fertility declines. But it’s still possible to get pregnant in your late 40s or early 50s if you’re still having periods.
If you’re under 50 and don’t want to get pregnant, you should use
contraception
for at least 2 years after your final period. If you are 50 or older and don’t want to get pregnant, you should use contraception for at least one year after your final period.
You can talk to your doctor about different contraception options.
Note that MHT is used to manage menopausal symptoms, it’s not a contraceptive.
When to see your doctor
Talk to your doctor if menopausal symptoms affect your daily life. For example:
if symptoms affect your sex life
if sex is painful
if you have urinary or vaginal problems
if you are distressed about your loss of sex drive
if you are experience anxiety, depression or big mood swings.
More information
For more detailed information, related resources, articles and podcasts, visit
Jean Hailes for Women’s
Health
External Link
.
Where to get help
GP (doctor)
Gynaecologist
A pelvic floor physiotherapist
A relationships
counsellor
A local family planning clinic
Sexual Health
Victoria
External Link
Jean Hailes for Women’s
Health
External Link