Breastfeeding is often at the center of controversy, from debates over nursing in public to “how old is too old.” But there’s one aspect of the act that feels so taboo, so intimate, women rarely mention it for fear of being shamed: Many mums become aroused while nursing, some even to the point of orgasm.
I first discovered this secret of secrets while researching the evolutionary role of breasts in sex, stumbling on it as a mere footnote in an academic journal. Intrigued, I quickly found my way to confessional YouTube videos on the topic. A few academic studies have also explored the phenomenon. While firm numbers are hard to find, research suggests that between 33 and 50% of women have experienced arousal while breastfeeding.
“It’s common, but women don’t talk about it,” according to Viola Polomeno, an associate professor in the University of Ottawa’s School of Nursing and a sexuality researcher.
Watch the Mamamia office discuss their most embarrassing sex stories below (post continues after video).
This reticence makes sense—it can feel uncomfortable to associate the act with sex. And indeed, a 1999 meta-analysis of 59 studies regarding breast feeding found that at least a quarter of women who report arousal while nursing feel a sense of guilt over it. Many are too scared to discuss it even with their partners. “The breast is an erogenous zone,” explained Mary Jo Podgurski, a nurse and childbirth educator in Pennsylvania. “But if a woman feels anything sexual while performing a motherly duty,” she may wonder, “What’s wrong with me?”
Top Comments
Still breastfeeding my 3.5 year old. Never not once ever had any type of sexual arousal from it. No judgement on anyone who has though. Theyre nipples after all. But mine are like iron. Very little sensitivity so I guess Im lucky that way. The closest parallel I could draw to it being related to sex with a partner is those times when you feel kind of obligated and yet irritated and think just get it bloody over with so I can go to sleep would ya!