Pregnancy can do unimaginable and unexpected things to your body, and frankly, there’s not a single thing you can do about it — your belly gets bigger, your feet swell like balloons, you grow hair all over, and your skin can get darker. Some women may even feel their vagina changing, like possibly feeling tighter. If you are pregnant, and your vagina feels like it’s in the midst of a long, continuous Kegel exercise, you might wonder, is my vagina tighter during pregnancy?
Romper spoke with Dr. Amy L. Gilliland, Approved Doula Trainer and Doula Research Fellow at UW Madison Center for Child and Family Well Being, about the changes your vagina goes through during pregnancy. “The size of the vagina does not change during pregnancy, but it does respond to pregnancy hormones and the increased blood flow that occurs," she says.
Gilliland explains that during pregnancy, a mother’s blood volume can increase by up to 20 percent, which means there’s a lot more fluid being circulated through the system. She says that this extra blood flow can increase the mucus membranes throughout the body, including the vagina, which can make it feel swollen. This swelling might be the tightness a woman feels during pregnancy.
How you feel mentally can also play a big role in how tight your vagina is. According to Psychology Today, if your vagina feels too tight when you are having sex, it may be because you are emotionally or mentally hesitant about the act, or you aren’t physically comfortable enough for your vagina to relax. The article explained that your vagina is like an accordion, and while arousal and childbirth can relax it enough to unfold, anxiety or disinterest can keep it shut tight. And it’s completely normal for a pregnant woman to be hesitant about sex — she may be worried about pain or discomfort, her own body image, or even the safety of her baby. All these things could contribute to the feeling of vaginal tightness.
So while pregnancy can make you feel like you're a living funhouse mirror, it won’t impact the size or tightness of your vagina. If you are feeling tighter than usual during sex, ask your partner to spend a little more time on you, physically and emotionally, so you can relax enough to get things going.
