A woman's guide to reviving sex drive

Has the "free love" generation lost its libido?

If you talk to baby boomer women, it seems the answer is yes. Indeed, as millions of women enter the peri- menopause and then progress to the menopause and beyond, many say they check their sex drive at the door - and most are not happy about it.

"I don't think a day goes by when at least one patient - and usually more - complain that their sex drive is dropping off and want to know what they can do about it," says gynaecologist Dr Laura Corio.

Clinically known as hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), Corio says she doesn't think more women are affected now than in the past, but she does believe more are coming forward - prompted, at least in part, by the success of male erectile dysfunction treatment drugs.

"The man gets a prescription for Viagra and he's ready to rock and roll while she's thinking 'Hey, where's my pill?' If she's not ready to ... join him for a ride, there can be real problems," says Corio.

Discovering what's wrong

While male sex drive is easy to define - and relatively easy to restore - that's often not the case for women. Because the female sex drive is multifactorial, the desire to make love is not only influenced by physical issues, but emotional ones as well.

"Part of the desire to make love is clearly physical, but part is also emotional - depression can make a difference, so can any emotional issue in a woman's life. Female sex drive is very multidimensional," says Dr Glenn Braunstein, an endocrinologist (a specialist in hormonal problems).

While emotions are frequently behind a loss of sex drive in younger women, doctors say it is frequently the ageing process itself that's causes changes in desire in women over age 45.

"The very fact that a woman is no longer ovulating regularly, or not ovulating at all, automatically takes her sex drive down a few notches," says Dr Steven Goldstein, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology.