Sexual Problems in Women

A risk factor is anything that increases your chances of having a problem. The main risk factors for sexual problems are:

• Having poor mental and emotional health.
• Having problems with your sexual relationship.
• Having a partner who has problems with sexual function.

Other risk factors include:

• Exhaustion, often from round-the-clock care of a baby or small children and/or parenting and having a job.
• Normal hormonal changes linked to pregnancy, recovery from pregnancy, menopause, or aging.
• Taking Reference certain medicines that decrease your desire for sex.
• Health problems that cause pain during sex or make it harder for you to engage in and enjoy sex. Such health problems include:
  • Nervous system problems such as stroke, spinal cord injury, and Parkinson's disease.
  • Surgery that affects the pelvic organs or genitals.
  • Diseases such as diabetes or liver disease.
  • Reference Peripheral arterial disease Opens New Window.

Sexual problems are common

Most women have a sexual problem at one time or another. For some women, the problem is long-term.

Surveys of the general population in the United States found that many women occasionally have sexual problems and worries. These may include:^{Reference 2}

• Concerns about sexuality (6 out of 10 women).
• Lack of interest in sex (3 out of 10 women).
• Sex not always being pleasurable (2 out of 10 women).
• Pain with sex (1 to 2 out of 10 women).
• Difficulty becoming aroused (5 out of 10 women).
• Difficulty reaching orgasm (5 out of 10 women).
• Not being able to have an orgasm (2 to 3 out of 10 women).

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