Prevention

Women have varied and interrelated reasons for desiring sexual activity and feeling sexually fulfilled. A woman's sexuality is influenced by her physical, psychological, and emotional states. Some causes of sexual problems, such as medical conditions, may not be within your control. But your emotional and psychological states are as important as your physical state in influencing your sexuality. You can take the following steps to help your sexual well-being.

• Look after your overall health—both your physical health and your emotional health.
• Practice communicating your needs and desires to your partner.
• Become familiar with your own patterns and methods of sexual arousal, perhaps through masturbation.
• Try to separate your sexual life from the stresses of daily life, such as economic, career, and partner tensions.
• Understand that many women do not always have orgasms during sex and that mutual pleasure can be a satisfying focus of sexual intimacy.
• Use plentiful lubrication for your vagina to avoid the most common cause of painful intercourse.
• Enjoy tenderness and closeness, and avoid expectations of reaching goals such as great sexual performances.