Sexy dreams and the benefits of oral sex during pregnancy, (tmi ahead, duh!)

Below is my favorite email of late.

It comes from a friend who is pregnant. But she shall remain nameless. Because we won't want anyone to know she is orgasming in her sleep! I mean, what would the neighbors think?

Also, what kind of pervert searches for things like "oral sex" or "sperm" while pregnant?

I'll tell you: MY kind of pervert!

Here's the email:
"Because I can ask you things like this, but I am not as bold as you with putting up things on my blog when my grandma is reading it faithfully:

1) Did you have a lot of sleep orgasms while pregnant?
2) Have you read about the Dutch study that shows that oral sex can help prevent preeclampsia? Fascinating!"

The answers are as follows.

1. Sleep orgasms
Why yes! I did have lots of sexy fun dreams that ended in sexy fun times while sleeping.

But that is fairly normal for me. (TMI ahead, in case you couldn't figure out I was gonna go there.) Most of my sex dreams over the last, say 15 years, have happily ended in orgasms — granted, these kinds of dreams have always been few and far between for me. In fact, my remembering ANY dream at all that wasn't mundane, business meeting, day-to-day boring stuff was rare. 'Til baby. Now I remember my dreams, and they are wacky. It's likely because I am up every few hours, thanks to baby.

Here's the promised TMI:
My sex dreams that end in a big ol' O always include me taking care of my own business. Nope, I'm not actually having sex in my sex dreams. Ever. Not once that I remember.

It's always masturbation, and it's usually in some kinda public place. This is the setting for my sex dreams. (Yeah, I know, says some obvious things about me.)

OH: and anytime I'm about to hook up with someone in my dreams, be it a boy or a girl, I use what little lucid dreaming power I have to slowly transform them into Ross. OR, I make an excuse in the dream about how it's OK and I'm not actually cheating on Ross. In a dream.

And then I wake up. Super wound up and wondering why I can't get it on with someone else in a friggin' dream.

Anytmigirl, loving this website I just found when I searched for "orgasms in sleep while pregnant."


Here's the resident expert's take on they why behind the sleepytime fun times.

"During pregnancy, elevated hormones can make orgasms much more abundant and easier to have. Pregnancy hormones can also induce vivid dreaming. The combination of the two will result in frequent "wet dreams," which are very normal during pregnancy. And, don't worry, uterine cramping immediately following an orgasm in completely normal too."

On to question number two.

2. Have you read about the Dutch study that shows that oral sex can help prevent preeclampsia?

Holy crap! No. I had not heard this.

And when I first read the above note I assumed that the "oral sex" referred to cunnilingus, because I am apparently a self-absorbed, sexist kinda gal.


But after a quick click, I realized that no, it's more about the mom's body putting semen to good use and therefore not reacting in a negative way to the fetus. If you think of pregnancy in terms of its similarities to a transplant, well, you can imagine that sometimes a woman's body freaks out and rejects what's happening in her uterus. The study suggests that oral exposure to the sperm donor's semen can help her body maintain the necessary "tolerance." It's a quick read. Check it out.

But what, you wonder, trying to change the subject of the images in your head, is preeclampsia? The term refers to a set of symptoms: high blood pressure and high amounts of protein in the urine. My midwives did a urine dip at each home visit. Also, we watched for sudden leg or ankle swelling, which can also be a sign. It can develop up to six weeks after delivery as well.

Needless to say, for anyone who kept up with this blog during my pregnancy, I did not develop preeclamsia. (It's hard for me not to make some crack about why, but look, I'm not gonna do it!)

Babycenter has some preggo-friendly info if you'd like to learn more. Here's their quick definition:
"Preeclampsia is a complex disorder that affects 3 to 8 percent of pregnant women.

"A woman is diagnosed with preeclampsia if she has high blood pressure and protein in her urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

"(It's possible to have preeclampsia before 20 weeks, but only in rare cases, such as with a molar pregnancy.)

"Preeclampsia most commonly shows up after 37 weeks, but it can develop at any time during the second half of pregnancy, including during labor or even after delivery — usually within the first 48 hours.

"Preeclampsia can range from mild to severe, and it can progress slowly or rapidly. The only way to get better is to deliver the baby."

Or, maybe to give daddy a few blow jobs!

Sorry, I had to.

(Photos in this post are from the camera I took last year at this time when I hiked up Half Dome in Yosemite.)