Life stages
The same body, different seasons: what changes in your pelvis and sex life at each stage, and what actually helps.
- First-time sexFirst-time sex can be a bit uncomfortable, but it does not have to hurt, and real pain is a sign to slow down or stop...
- Pelvic floor in pregnancyPregnancy hormones soften the pelvic floor while the growing baby adds weight on top, so leaking when you cough or sn...
- Postpartum recoveryAfter birth the pelvic floor is stretched and weak, and most people notice some leaking or heaviness at first. Gentle...
- Diastasis rectiDiastasis recti is a widening of the gap between the two vertical stomach muscles, stretched by pregnancy. It is very...
- PerimenopausePerimenopause is the run-up to menopause, when hormone levels swing and then fall, often starting in your 40s. Beside...
- Menopause and sexAfter menopause, lower estrogen makes the vaginal and vulval tissue thinner, drier and less stretchy, which can make ...
- Sex after breast cancerBreast cancer treatment often affects sex: chemotherapy and hormone therapy can bring on menopause-like changes such ...
- Sex after pelvic radiationRadiotherapy to the pelvis can make the vagina drier, less elastic, shorter and narrower over the following months an...
What this section covers
Pelvic health is not fixed. Hormones, pregnancy, birth, age and medical treatment all change how the vagina, vulva, bladder and pelvic floor muscles feel and work. Most of these changes are common, many are treatable, and very few are something you simply have to put up with.
Each guide below starts with a short answer, then explains what is going on, what you can try yourself and when a clinician should take a look.
Starting out
First-time sex covers whether it hurts, why it sometimes does, and the myths about the hymen that still cause a lot of needless worry.
Pregnancy and after birth
- Pelvic floor in pregnancy: leaking, pressure and the exercises worth starting now.
- Postpartum recovery: the pelvic floor, stitches and scars, and getting back to sex and exercise.
- Diastasis recti: the gap between the stomach muscles, how to check it and how it is treated.
Midlife
- Perimenopause: the years before periods stop, including the vaginal, bladder and sexual changes that often get overlooked.
- Menopause and sex: dryness, pain and desire after periods stop, and the treatments that work.
After cancer treatment
- Sex after breast cancer: treatment-related menopause, dryness, body image and safe options.
- Sex after pelvic radiation: vaginal narrowing and how dilators are used after radiotherapy.
If a symptom brought you here rather than a stage of life, the symptoms section is organized by what you feel. For a plain explanation of the anatomy involved, start with body basics.