Relationship Problems
In other cases, emotional problems in a relationship with a partner may be the reason behind too little vaginal lubrication.
In these situations, feelings may block natural physical responses. This kind of experience is not unusual. Partners may be able to deal with the situation on their own, or it may be helpful to discuss the problem with a qualified therapist.
Vaginal lubrication typically decreases as women age, but this is a natural physical change that does not normally mean there is any physical or psychological problem.
After menopause, the body produces less estrogen, which, unless compensated for with estrogen replacement therapy, causes the vaginal walls to thin out significantly. The vagina also tends to become slightly shorter and narrower, and it takes longer to produce even a reduced amount of lubrication.
The vagina also loses its ability to expand as easily during sexual excitation. A woman not using estrogen replacement may use artificial lubricants, and engaging in longer periods of foreplay may help post-menopausal women avoid pain with intercourse.
Sometimes after childbirth a woman's vagina may lose some of its muscle tone, loosen a bit, and feel larger. For some women this means that they may not feel the pleasure they once did from their partner's penis making contact with the vaginal walls. The partner may also notice that he is not held as tightly by the vagina.
Post-Childbirth Exercises
There are specific exercises that women can do after childbirth to strengthen and tighten the muscles around the vagina and improve the tone and feeling.
These exercises, called Kegel exercises after the physician who developed them, require the woman to contract the muscles used to stop the flow of urine. The contraction is held for 3-5 seconds, repeated ten times in a series, and the series is usually repeated several times a day. These voluntary contractions can also be done during intercourse, and some women and men find it sexually enhancing.
Copyright 2002 Sinclair Intimacy Institute
