Sex and the menopause

The taboos around intimacy, women’s pleasure and sex as we age can mean that women are less likely to ask for help so we need to keep talking about it

- DR PHILIPPA KAYE

I see many women in my surgery with symptoms related to the menopause; everything from hot flushes to joint pains, the menopausal brain fog to mood changes. And yet until I bring it up, they rarely mention the topic of sex. Sex and intimacy play an important part in many people’s lives irrespective of age,and regular sex and orgasms, be they solo or with a partner boost mood, help sleep and relaxation as well as being a form of physical activity with all the health benefits that that involves and boosts your immune system, too. Added to that, sex is not simply about sexual gratification but plays an important role in intimacy and relationships.

Sex drive, or libido, is complicated and involves both physical and psychological factors. For example, if you are physically unwell with a cold or a headache, you don’t want to have sex; if you feel low or sad you don’t want to have sex; if intercourse hurts, you won’t have the drive to have sex, or if there are problems in your relationship your sex drive might drop. And quite often, there will be a combination of issues.

‘Sex plays an important role in intimacy and relationships’