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Sex after menopause
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 08.07.2025
With age, both men and women gradually experience a decrease in sexual desire, but, as gerontologists say, for women, sex after menopause loses its meaning two to three times more often.
Does a woman want sex after menopause?
It is difficult to answer this question unequivocally, since the decline in sexual desire in most women begins after 45-50 years, but the influence of age on sexual needs has individual characteristics. There are women who do not want sex even at forty years old, others do not notice any changes, and some of them answer the question - does a woman want sex after menopause? - in the affirmative and even report an increase in interest in sex in adulthood.
Since a woman's estrogen levels drop during menopause, sex can be painful, and dyspareunia (pain during intercourse) is reported by an average of 34% of women over the age of 50-55. The cause of discomfort, burning and pain during sex is atrophic changes in the vagina, dryness and thinning of its tissues and lack of vaginal lubrication. This can lead to traumatic damage and bleeding of the vaginal mucosa.
Thus, hypoactivity of sexual desire after menopause has physiological causes and cannot be considered a pathology. On the other hand, for some women of this age category, the lack of sexual desire is a source of anxiety, reducing their satisfaction with life and self-esteem. Very often, the problem may also be that a woman’s unwillingness to have sex upsets her partner and threatens to weaken their relationship.
[ Is it possible to have sex after menopause?
Sexologists and gynecologists answer the question of whether it is possible to have sex after menopause in the affirmative. Meanwhile, it should be borne in mind that there are certain medical problems associated with age-related vaginal atrophy. In particular, this is the shortening and narrowing of the vagina.
In addition to the above-mentioned unpleasant symptoms, significant vaginal atrophy may be accompanied by incontinence or genitourinary syndrome of menopause - urinary incontinence with more frequent urges to urinate and burning when urinating. Also, atrophic processes in tissues can lead to the development of vaginal dysbiosis during menopause. And in this case, having sex after menopause - especially in the presence of complications in the form of bacterial or candidal vulvovaginitis and endocervitis - is impossible: first you need to get rid of the infection, that is, undergo a course of treatment with appropriate drugs.
Doctors recommend using lubricants – special moisturizing hydrants (Replens, Luvena, etc.) – to improve the quality of sexual intercourse in case of vaginal dryness after menopause.
Of course, age-related hormonal changes after menopause also affect the sensations during sex: orgasm may be less intense or absent altogether. In a large national survey of sexual behavior among older American adults, 23% of women aged 57-80 said they no longer enjoyed sex.
But this, according to doctors, does not mean that women during menopause should forget about the sexual side of relationships, mistakenly believing that sex is only for the young. After all, it is this point of view that most often leads to a loss of sexual interest. And sex after menopause increases the blood flow to the genitals, keeping them healthy longer.