Pregnancy in patients with vaginismus

Patients suffering from vaginismus can achieve pregnancy through appropriate treatment or with the help of assisted reproductive techniques.

What is vaginismus

Vaginismus is a female sexual dysfunction that consists of an involuntary contraction of the muscles surrounding the vagina. This pathology affects 12% of Spanish women and causes inability to have sexual intercourse, so that if no treatment is considered, pregnancy is not possible in patients suffering from vaginismus.

In no case should the concept of vaginismus be confused with dyspareunia, which refers to pain during intercourse. Patients suffering from vaginismus do not achieve penetration. On the other hand, patients suffering from dyspareunia achieve penetration, even if it is painful.

Types of vaginismus

There are two types of vaginismus. On the one hand, primary vaginismus occurs in women who have never achieved vaginal penetration. On the other hand, secondary vaginismus occurs in women who have previously achieved vaginal penetration. Secondary vaginismus can be caused by the after-effects of pregnancy or previous childbirth.

What causes vaginismus?

There are different causes that can lead to a patient suffering from vaginismus. On the one hand, physical causes, which are generally related to a case of endometriosis, rigid hymen, tumors in the pelvis, stenosis in the vagina, pelvic inflammatory disease, hemorrhoids, among others.

On the other hand, psychological causes are usually related to fear of sexual intercourse or pregnancy, depressive states, self-esteem problems and poor sexual education, among others.

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How to treat vaginismus

Treatment of vaginismus should be aimed at enabling the woman to have penetrative intercourse without pain. With proper treatment, most patients see improvement.

Pregnancy in patients with vaginismus: assisted reproductive treatments

When the patient suffering from vaginismus is unable to achieve pregnancy even though she is able to have sexual intercourse, assisted reproductive treatments are an option to achieve pregnancy.

These assisted reproductive techniques include artificial insemination, ovodonation, embryodonation and in vitro fertilization (IVF), which can be adapted to the conditions of the patient suffering from vaginismus.