Women’s health centre

Below the belt: The gynaecology secrets you need to know

“I can’t tell you,” says gynaecologist Dr Rebecca Amaru, “the number of times women come into my office in tears because they’ve read or heard something about gynaecology they think applies to them - and it doesn’t.” She says that a lot of what you read about gynaecology or about caring for your intimate area is either exaggerated or “just plain wrong”.

To help you sort fact from rumour, we asked some top experts about sexual health and intimate area care - topics that many women are too embarrassed to ask their own doctor about. What they said, may surprise you. Here are the gynaecology secrets you want to know.

Secret 1: Birth control pills may cause your sex drive to wane.

If your sex life hasn’t seemed quite the same since you started taking the pill, it’s not your imagination, says Amaru. “It’s 100% true that birth control pills can reduce the desire for sex in many women,” she says.

This is true not only for women in their reproductive years; it’s also true for women going through the menopause who may use a low dose pill to control symptoms such as hot flushes and mood swings.

What can you do to get your sex drive back? Amaru says changing to another pill or formulation sometimes helps. “If it doesn’t,” she says, “consider switching to another form of birth control such as an IUD or condoms,” she says. Another option is to take the pill less frequently and use another method of protection to prevent pregnancy. If you’re using the pill for relief of symptoms such as hot flushes, talk to your doctor about cutting back the dosage.

Secret 2: To reduce some side effects of contraceptive pills - including nausea - insert them vaginally.

“Inserting the pill vaginally is not harmful,” says obstetrics and gynaecology professor Dr Steve Goldstein, “And,” he says, “it can be very effective, particularly if you are suffering with any nausea or vomiting for any reason, including from taking the pill.”

This little known secret came to light thanks to an Israeli study published in the journal Contraception. Doctors compared two groups of women using the pill. One group took the pill by mouth; the other inserted it into the vagina and let it dissolve. The result? The women who used the vaginal route had less nausea, vertigo, headache, breast tenderness, period pain and stomach upsets than the ones who took the pill orally.

Before doing this it is advisable to discuss it with your doctor.

Secret 3: Migraine headaches may increase your desire for sex - and orgasms may stop headaches and menstrual cramps.

Having sex may be the last thing on your mind when you have a headache, but don’t be surprised if you feel stronger urges to get intimate in the time leading up to a migraine - as much as 24 hours before. Doctors aren’t sure why this occurs. According to researcher Dr James Couch, it may have something to do with an increase in the levels of serotonin. This brain chemical may be linked to sexual appetite.

Moreover, research has shown that for up to 20% of women, having an orgasm may stop a migraine in its tracks, immediately relieving the pain. However, this isn’t the first time orgasm has been linked to pain relief. Goldstein says some women find it helps menstrual cramps - possibly because of a release of bio-chemicals that flood the body and relax the uterus, relieving pain.