Sex while dilated?

[Gabbles1]

I have been having persistent contractions so we went to the hospital after a phone conversation with the on-call. The nurse checked for dilation and said I am about a centimeter and they are sending us home for now. Can my husband and I have have sex to speed the process up? Does anyone know the answer to this?

[lilkim8812]

You can have sex as long as your water hasn't broke ☺

[Gabbles1]

I only asked because walking isn't working. I've tried everything to get things started. I use my exercise ball and we go on long walks. Among other things, I was only curious about intercourse mainly because of the things I've heard about it kick starting labor. That's all I wanted to know. Thank you.

[nutz19]

I recommend walking, bouncing on a ball and rocking from side to side. You could be 1cm dilated for a while yet. Don't tire yourself out at the start, remember it's a marathon not a sprint x

[kailaalaa]

I'd recommend walking more than sex, but it kind of depends on what your effacement looks like. Sperm can help soften your cervix, and an orgasam can release oxytocin which can help dilation so it depends on what you're looking for. But once labor has started walking is a really great way to get baby to move down into the pelvis, the constant motion of baby's head against the cervix helps soften and dilate and puts them at a proper station so you might find walking works better. Or that neither makes a difference and you just have to wait it out. Good luck!