G-Spot and Women's SexualHealth

Based on the definition of the Ministry of Health, it is known that the reproductive health situation is completely healthy and reproductive processes. Thus, reproductive health conditions not only free from disease, but how someone can have a sexual life in a safe and satisfying both before marriage and after marriage.

Hearing Women's Reproductive Anatomy

The tool itself is reproductive parts of our bodies that continue to function in offspring. Tools reproductive women with different means of male reproduction. In this article we will discuss more specific means of reproductive women.

Women's reproductive tool consists of two parts, namely the in and outside. Have a function in part as follows:
* Genitalia lips (labia mayora), the heartland periwigged, functions as a protector and keep the remains in the humid.
* Lips in the genitals (labia minora), the area that is not blond and has a network of fiber sensory very knowledgeable sensitive because it contains the end of the nerve.
* Vagina, the cavity between the means of reproduction and women in the outside.

The tools of the outer female reproductive function has the following:

* Vagina the outside, which is an exit for menstrual blood and a way out when the baby is born (are very flexible so that the baby can come out through the vagina).
* Neck womb (cervix), which is between the vagina and uterus.
* uterus, where cells that have been fertilized egg grows in the womb during pregnancy. When the egg is not fertilized, the eggs stick to the cell wall of the womb. Next womb wall thick exuviate ago and flow out in the form of blood. This is called menstruation.
* Line of eggs (falopii tuba), the two channels that are located next to the uterus and left kanana that serves as the womb cavity and ovary.
* Two ovary (ovarium), functional cells to produce eggs and hormones peremputan namely progesterone and estrogen. Above the influence of hormones, as many as one to two eggs cooked the cells of each month, then released to the uterus wall. Wall of the womb will be thick, which is actually useful as a place to nest after the egg cell fertilized.

So ... if signs of maturity means of reproduction of women? Women's reproductive maturity instruments marked by the occurrence of first menstruation, which is called menarche. Usually we take the children so that young people have grown adult, which began around the age of 8-12 years. When a woman has experienced menarche, that means the body already produces egg cells that can be fertilized by sperm produced by the body of men, and can cause pregnancy.

Position Women's G-Spot

In addition to reproductive tool before, you also need to identify one area that is often called the G-Spot. G-Spot (Grafenberg Spot) is now frequently discussed in various media. He said, the point G-Spot is a narrow space behind the pubis bone of women who, when left this will give awesome sensation.

Spot G-Spot can be found by inserting the fingers into the Vagina palm facing forward. With the touch and play with it, you can create multiple pairs of women orgasm. G Spot which has stimulated can also make a good time with the position doggy style or spooning.

OK... Seeing the body of knowledge of anatomy and reproductive tool, of course you can now prepare to enjoy a wonderful time together. Do not be afraid to try and pair explore body, because creativity is the element that is essential to develop intimate relationships that always passionate.
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U.K. Government Encourages Teen Masturbation?

Great Britain has long struggled with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe. Now a local government initiative in northern England is trying a new and somewhat controversial approach to sex education -- encouraging teenagers to masturbate.

In a new National Health Service leaflet entitled "Pleasure," teenagers are encouraged to exercise their right to "an orgasm a day."

"Health promotion experts advocate five portions of fruit and veg a day and 30 minutes' physical activity three times a week. What about sex or masturbation twice a week?" says the leaflet, which Sheffield's Primary Care Trust has circulated to parents, teenagers and youth workers in and around the city.

The leaflet has caused quite a stir. Many people say they believe it will encourage teenagers to engage in underage or unsafe sex.

Steven Slack, one of the authors, disagrees. He was unavailable for comment to ABC News, but previously told the Daily Telegraph that the leaflet does the opposite, and, in fact, encourages teenagers to delay losing their virginity until they are certain they will enjoy the experience.

Slack also said that by encouraging teenagers to experiment with sex, the pamphlet could dispel the myth that "there is only one way to have 'proper sex.'"

Psychologists who specialize in sexuality and family health in the United States generally supported the message, but disagreed about the method to reach teens.

"These are still minors, and the parents, even if they are supportive of the idea, might be a bit scandalized to see their children being talked to directly about sexuality without taking the parents' consent into account," psychologist and columnist Pepper Schwartz wrote in an e-mail to ABCNews.com.

"I think talking about and demystifying masturbation is a great idea -- but it should be done with parent cooperation rather than bombarding their child with information without context or respect for their own cultural and historical traditions," she said.

Experts Disagree About Pro-Masturbation Pamphlets

Other psychologists specializing in sexuality, however, were completely supportive of a comprehensive education campaign, including covering masturbation.

"Generally speaking, I see nothing inappropriate in suggesting that masturbation is both pleasurable and healthy for both young adults and older adults," New York City-based psychologist and author Joy Davidson said.

"If one is old enough to be potentially sexually active, one is old enough to deserve honest, comprehensive information about all aspects of sexuality, including desire and pleasure, and to be encouraged to learn about one's body via self-stimulation," she said.

"It's long past time that appreciation of one's sexual feelings, blended with emotional awareness and knowledge of safer sex practices, replace methods of fear-provoking and shame-instilling sexuality mis-education," she said.

This leaflet is just the latest in a succession of U.K. government initiatives to try and reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies. Earlier schemes have generally involved educational classes and courses designed to teach teenagers how to practice safe sex.

However, shock tactics have also been tried. In one video, teenagers were shown running across a school sports field to watch a fellow student giving birth. The video was an attempt to convey to teenagers the harsh reality of parenthood at such a young age.

Earlier this year, another leaflet was distributed to parents to encourage them to talk to their teens about sex without judgement, explaining that there is no "right" or "wrong," rather that generations simply view sex differently.

Finally, the U.K. government has proposed relaxing the rules on condom advertising and allowing abortion clinics to advertise their services on TV and radio, despite doctors' calls for these advertisements to be banned.
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Why Are Condoms Disliked by So Many Men?

The federal government has spent nearly half a million dollars to fund a study to find out why some men would prefer not to wear condoms during sex.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, a branch of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a $423,500 grant to researchers at The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction.

The Bloomington, Ind., based research team will use the funding to study "barriers to correct condom use," according to a release from the institute.

"This project aims to advance our understanding of, among other factors, the role of cognitive and affective processes and condom application skills in explaining problems with condom use in young, heterosexual adult men," reads an excerpt of the study, which will be funded through May 2011.

But critics aren't so sure that this is the way the government should be spending taxpayer dollars.

One of those people is Jazz Shaw, the assistant editor for the news blog Themoderatevoice.com, who says that if the researchers really wanted to know why guys don't like wearing condoms, they should have just asked the average guy.

"Government at all levels leaves itself open to ridicule by not thinking these things through," Shaw said in an e-mail to ABCNews.com. "Men don't enjoy wearing condoms and we already know this."

"If what the NIH actually plans to study is condom failure rates or design deficiencies leading to difficulty in using the product, they should name the study appropriately and focus on those areas," Shaw said.

Repeated calls and messages to the NIH left by ABCNews.com were not immediately returned, but according to its Web site, it provides more than $30 billion for research every year, making the funding for this study a mere pittance in comparison to the larger picture.

The two leaders of the study, scientists Erick Janssen and Stephanie Sanders, also did not respond to requests for comment.

Asked to elaborate on why, exactly, men often put up a fight when they're asked to wear a condom, Shaw said the feeling experienced during intercourse is altered -- and not for the better -- by the condom.

"The physical sensation is simply not the same," Shaw said.

"Also, it's an interruption when a couple is in the 'heat of the moment' where you have to change focus to something decidedly unromantic," he said. "[It's] pretty much the same as if the woman, at the same juncture, needs to jump up, run to the bathroom and insert a diaphragm. It breaks the mood.

"Men wear them because they are slightly more desirable than a combination of embarrassing diseases, 20 years of child support payments and death," Shaw said. "And if you took the death part out of the equation, a frightening number of us would probably still roll the dice on it if the lady was willing."

Condom Study to Be Carried Out in Two Phases

The project will be split up into two phases, the first to be focused on asking men about "various issues of arousal and sensation, including physical experience and perceptions about condoms," according to the institutes release on the study.

The second phase will be more laboratory oriented and will focus on "penile erection and sensitivity during condom application."

One of the main goals of the study is to understand the link between condom application and the loss of erections and decreased sensation experienced by men.

David Williams, the vice president for policy at Citizens Against Government Waste, a non-profit watchdog group that tracks mismanagement and wasteful spending by the government, said that he is "frustrated" by the grant.

"It's hard to see this kind of research going on when we have such bigger problems as a country that we need to face," Williams said. "The NIH is studying things that on the face of it sounds like it isn't really needed right now or that the answers are pretty obvious at times."

Williams concedes that while the amount of money given to this project is a "drop in the bucket" compared to the total amount of monetary support the NIH doles out each year, he says that cutting back on several projects like this one could go a long way.

"There needs to be more scrutiny over what is and is not funded," he said.

"People don't seem to think the government has priorities and this grant is really just another example of that," Williams said. "We're all trying to make ends meet here and the government is doing a study on condom use."
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Polyamory: When One Spouse Isn't Enough

She has a birth name but calls herself "Ashara Love," because most people don't understand her unconventional family.

Love, a 51-year-old insurance underwriter from California, has been married to her husband "Cougar" for a decade, but they've had numerous sexual triads, which they insist have enriched their relationship.

"I am living my life partially hidden and partially open," said Love, whose friends and boss know about her sexuality, but her parents do not.

"Many of us adopt another name because it provides us with protection from being outed," she said. "We are the next generation after the gay and transgender communities."

As polyamorists, the couple belongs to a small group that believes people have the right to form their own complex relationships with multiple partners. The most vocal want the right to marry -- as a cluster.

"We have rights to love any way we want unless we are harming other people," said Love. "Like the air we breathe, we have a right to be and do and say whatever is our full expression, and this to me is a civil right."

The polyamory movement grew out of the communes of the 1960s and the swingers of the 1970s, but today, with gay marriage legal in six states, some, such as Love, say their cause should be next.

This nascent and as yet small effort to legalize group marriage is likely to enrage conservative religious groups that upheld Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage. In hard-hitting ads, those groups charged that allowing gay marriage would open the door to all kinds of nontraditional relationships, including polygamists.

"These group marriage people are certainly fringe but clearly growing," said Glenn Stanton, director of family formation studies at Focus on the Family.

"Google the word 'polyamory' and see how many groups there are," he told ABCNews.com. "And look at their rhetoric. It is word-for-word what same-sex marriage advocates employ in their effort to redefine marriage. Is it really a good idea to open this Pandora's box?"

But Love said polyamory is more about the spiritual and emotional connection between partners -- who in her group are faithful -- and not just about sex.

The couple belongs to the group Loving More, which publishes a magazine and holds conventions and retreats for the like-minded.

Founded in 1986, the organization has more than 15,000 on its global mailing list and 3,000 active members.

"Now we have the Internet and we can find each other," said Love. "We are not odd fish in the community we live in."

Polyamorous Murder Case Shocks Capital

But too often, polyamory gets a bad name.

Just this month, investigators in the 2006 unsolved murder of prominent Washington, D.C., attorney Robert Wone, say the three primary suspects -- all gay male professionals -- lived in a polyamorous relationship.

Police affidavits speculate that Wone was "restrained, incapacitated and sexually assaulted" before his death, then the trio tampered with the crime scene to cover it up.

Last November, Wone's widow, Katherine, filed a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit against housemates Joe Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward, who were charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy in connection with the fatal stabbing.

But polys, as they call themselves, say lurid crimes like the Wone case do not define their lifestyles, which are as varied as their partners and personal arrangements.

Like Love, Robin Trask of Loveland, Colo., struggled with monogamous dating relationships in high school.

"My mother lived in Colorado and my father was in Texas, so I had a boyfriend in each place," Trask, the executive director of Loving More, told ABCNews.com.

"I felt wretched about myself," said Trask, 45. "I fell deeply in love with two people, and I had to choose."

Trask has three partners: the man she has lived with for four years; a man with whom she has been involved for 23 years who is married and lives outside the country; and a third man from New York City (he might be married; she doesn't know).

There are rules. The wife of her second partner forbids her husband to sleep with anyone but Trask.

Trask's sexual encounters are always one-on-one with a partner. But in a previous polyamorous marriage of 18 years, she had a threesome with her husband and his girlfriend.

"The dynamic was different, and it surprised me," said Trask, who identifies as heterosexual. "For me, it was about spirituality, much more about the relationship and emotional connection than just sex."

Polyamorous Children Grown Up Together

Trask likes the extended family that polyamory provides. She has three children -- 22, 18, 13 -- and her first husband's girlfriend also had children who spent holidays together.

"These are important relationships," she said. "The children grew up together."

Some polys support legalizing civil unions or incorporating their "clusters" as a corporation to gain health care and joint property rights. But Trask said her biggest concern is raising awareness so polys do not lose their children or jobs.

"We want it to be OK when you have two dads or two moms -- or whatever configuration -- at parent teacher conferences, and they don't freak out on you."

In polyamory, there are still are jealousies and pain, the same dynamics that can occur in a monogamous marriage, but the "full disclosure" between partners makes it more honest, according to Trask and Love.

Polys say that monogamy is a cultural norm that often fails. "As a result, many marriages are train wrecks, even when they don't end in divorce," said Love's husband, "Cougar," 58.

"Few people have good models to base their polyamory rules on," he told ABCNews.com. "For this reason, polyamory agreements must be negotiated with tenderness, empathy, partnership and the commitment to keep everyone safe."

Love and Cougar's goal is to create a "polyfidelitous family" -- four, five or six people who don't have relationships outside the marriage.

"Every person in a cluster or family realizes that no one can be completely happy if anyone is not," he said.

But Judy Kuriansky, a sex therapist and professor at Columbia University Teachers College, said being successful at polyamory is a tall order.

"[It] demands knowing yourself, replacing guilt with acceptance, communicating and embracing sexual energy, spirituality, new beliefs and a new culture," she told ABCNews.com. "Overcoming jealousy is key."

As a clinical psychologist, Kuriansky has seen some "dismal failures, even for the leading proponents."

"One wife left her poly husband, saying, 'I'm just a girl from Kansas. I finally realized I don't want my husband f**king other women.' A husband had a rude awakening when his wife added another man to their household and her bed, only to declare she wanted a sexual exclusivity with another man."

According to expert Deborah Anapol, polyamory has been accepted by many cultures. In Hawaii, where she lives today, there is even a word for the extra partner -- "punalua."

"We talk like we invented it, but it's been around a long time," said Anapol, who counsels couples and families, and is writing a new book on the topic, "Understanding Polyamory in the 21st Century."

Most Not Interested in Marriage

But, she said, today's polys have little interest in legalizing marriage, and "the state being involved in their lives.

"Polys don't want to make it into a special identity and don't want to be known as a poly person," said Anapol. "They just want to live their lives. A movement tends to put you in an oppressed, underdog position."

"I'd like to think the movement has already succeeded and in the most liberal parts of this country, it's more accepted," she said. "The shift has already happened."

At 57, Anapol is now "single" after two marriages -- one traditional and the other polyamorous -- which produced two daughters.

"Both are comfortable with the idea," she said. "The 37-year-old has chosen a conventional monogamous marriage and the 20-year-old is still experimenting, but definitely attracted to the idea."

But Anapol, who has several long-term "intimate friendships," has discovered that being polyamorous "doesn't solve all marital problems."

As for Love and Cougar, who celebrate their 10th anniversary this month, they say their relationship is "extraordinary."

"We've been very cautious," said Love. "He likes to say he steals my boyfriends. I am not interested in men unless they are interested in me."

"Every person is seeking to find a fit that works for them," she said. "It's hard enough to find a monogamous partner. It's exponentially harder to fit the quirks of two people, plus a third person."
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Why Nice Guys Finish Last

Ricky Menezes, a 22-year-old from Marlborough, Mass., says he knows he will hook up with "about 20 girls" in the next month.

How does he know this, you ask? Ricky knows this because he's what we call a "bad boy" -- the type of guy who knows exactly how to act, what to say and how to manipulate women into giving him what he wants.

"It all started in high school," Ricky said. "I started being the outgoing, crazy, funny kid that everyone thought was fun and wanted to hang out with."

After being validated by his peers in high school, Ricky said he has more or less mastered the art of being a bad boy, and has done so with one overriding goal in mind -- sexual conquest.

"I don't pretend to be anything I'm not," Ricky said. "I'm honest and outspoken. I say that I'm just looking to hook up. ... I'm not afraid to go for it, and I rarely get rejected.

"Oh, and I'm in a band. You have to be in a band. Girls love guys in bands," he added.

Most everyone knows -- or at least knows of -- a stereotypical "bad boy" like Ricky. The guy with such high self-esteem he could aptly be called a narcissist. The guy who wins women over with deceit, callousness and impulsive behavior. Basically, the type of guy who resembles a real-life version of Hugh Grant's character in "Bridget Jones' Diary."

The success of Ricky and so many other "bad boys" with women seems to add weight to the popular saying "good guys finish last."

And there might be more than just a grain of truth in these mantras about bad boys; new research suggests they might actually be attracting more women than their "nicer" counterparts.

The Positive Side of Negative Traits

Researchers at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces gave 200 college students personality tests to see how many of what psychologists call "dark triad traits" they possessed. These traits include callousness, impulsive behavior, extroversion, narcissism and various other anti-social traits for which "bad boys" are known.

The researchers also asked about the student's sex lives, their feelings about sexual relationships, their number of sexual partners, and what they are seeking in sexual or romantic relationships.

According to Peter Jonason, lead study investigator, although society tends to look down upon these "negative" dark triad personality traits, there seems to be quite an upside to being a bad boy.

"We would traditionally consider these dark triad traits to be adverse personality traits, and we think women would avoid these kinds of men, but what we show is counterintuitive -- that women are attracted to these bad boys and they do pretty well in terms of sheer numbers of sexual partners," Jonason explained. "They're taking quantity over quality as their sexual agenda, being serially monogamous and having multiple partners or one-night stands."

Jonason compared the type of "dark triad bad boy" that the study refers to as a modern-day James Bond figure -- a man with little empathy for others, a penchant for fast cars and even faster women, and a seeker of short-term rather than long-term goals -- especially concerning the opposite sex.

And because these characters appear in this study to be successful at achieving their short-term goals -- which, in this case, is a short-term sexual relationship -- Jonason believes such character traits have persevered in so many people because they seem to be evolutionarily successful.

"Dark triad traits are useful in pursuing our agendas at any given time," Jonason explained. "If you like someone and want to meet them and date them, people who have the dark triad traits appear to be more successful at facilitating short-term mating."

Jonason validated this point with a comparison to the popular VH1 show "The Pick-Up Artist," wherein nerdy, nice guys meet with a typical bad boy to learn how to pick up more of these dark triad traits -- and also more women.

Nice Guys Win in the End

But some experts say it might not be so simple.

Heather Rupp, a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, believes that the reason women may be drawn toward the "bad boys" is more because of physiology more than psychology.

"I think it goes back to the physiological underpinnings of such an attraction," Rupp said. "For instance, testosterone is a hormone that in men is linked to more dominant personality traits -- outgoing personalities and charm and things like that. And men with higher testosterone are rated by independent observers as being more outgoing and charming than others."

Some experts, however, believe that these narcissistic males tend to embellish the self-reported tales of their own sexual conquest, leading others to believe they are more sexually successful than they really are.

"People high in dark triad traits tend to say what they think others want to hear," said Everett Worthington, professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Moreover, Worthington notes that while some of these males may be more successful at short-term sexual relationships, their overall success with long-term relationships is often compromised by their dark triad traits.

"The manipulative 'It's all about me, so tell 'em anything to get sex' behavior is likely to have more short-term sexual success," Worthington said. "A strategy of building trust and intimacy and commitment is, by nature, going to take longer. Thus, the payoffs are likely to be greater in the short term. However, long-term relationship survival is likely to be strongly disadvantaged in people with dark triad traits."

So maybe good guys don't always finish last.
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'Pulling Out' Method Gets New Respect

When sex researcher Rachel K. Jones published a report that suggests the much-maligned withdrawal method of birth control was nearly as effective as condoms in preventing pregnancy, she was showered with criticism.
And it wasn't evangelicals who had taken virginity pledges who pulled out the big guns.

Those whom Jones said could benefit from this information -- couples in monogamous relationships who are not at risk for sexually transmitted diseases -- reacted in "sheer disbelief," she said.

"I don't know anybody who does the 'pull out' method, as we call it," said Lizzy Holmgren, a 23-year-old graduate student from Denver who has been a monogamous relationship for more than two years. "Most of us have had enough sex education courses to know that doesn't work very well."

The act of withdrawal -- the male pulling out before ejaculation -- is a long controversial method of birth control, one many sex education classes have condemned as risky.

But Jones' findings, based on several studies and data from the Guttmacher Institute , a nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health where she is a senior research associate, were just the opposite.

Her studies found that in perfect use -- meaning the man pulls out every time -- withdrawal has a 4 percent failure rate, as compared to condoms, which have a 2 percent failure rate.

"But nobody's perfect," said Jones, who published her commentary in the June issue of Contraception magazine.

In typical use, when used consistently and correctly, coitus interruptus and condoms have an 18 and 17 percent failure rate, respectively.

"Although withdrawal may not be as effective as some contraceptive methods, it is substantially more effective than nothing," said the report. "It is also convenient, requires no prior planning and there is no cost involved."

Jones noted that one persistent myth often cited as a drawback to withdrawal -- that there is mobile sperm in pre-ejaculate -- is actually contradicted by two studies cited by the National Institutes of Health.

"In two small studies there is no sperm in the fluid," she said. "If the guy has had sex in the last couple of hours is the only way it gets in pre-cum. But if you go to the bathroom, it flushes the sperm out."

"Withdrawal gets a bad rap," according to Jones, who urges sex educators and health professionals to discuss the method when teaching about birth control.

Withdrawal Rivals Condoms

Her research set off fireworks in the blogosphere as both women and men assailed the withdrawal method as "reproductive roulette."

On Jezebel.com, which reports on celebrity, sex and fashion for women, a blog on the study had nearly 14,000 pages views and 337 comments, out-performing its popular column, "Slutty Feminists."

"Yeah," wrote Macloserboy. "The very fact I'm even writing this is proof it doesn't work. Thanks dad, for sharing that piece of information in a drunken, bonding moment 30 years ago."

"Should we start dropping off products of failed withdrawal techniques at the local ATM?" asked fireflyinjuly.

"A co-worker of mine refers to this as the 'pull and pray' method," wrote one commenter, saintbernadette.

Even sex educators like Dr. Judy Kuriansky from Columbia University's Teachers College said that "very little could be worse."

"Teens will misuse the data and boys will use it as an excuse not to wear condoms," she told ABCNews.com. "It is also not good for monogamous couples, especially those who are religious and against abortion, who may have more unplanned pregnancies."

Jones, surprised by the thrust of her critics, responded with a letter she hoped would be widely published.

"I've grown used to promoters of abstinence only-until-marriage programs dismissing the effectiveness of contraception," said Jones. "However, I'm surprised to see such disparagement of withdrawal among a crowd that is presumably younger, more diverse and open-minded."

"Perhaps because most of us have been told for so long that withdrawal doesn't work, we are unable to embrace scientific evidence that counters what we 'know,'" said Jones.

IUD and Hormones Most Effective

Despite the explosive reaction, statistics suggest that most women have used withdrawal.

According to the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, 56 percent of all sexually experienced women rely on withdrawal at some time during their lives. About 82 percent have used the pill and 90 percent a condom.

The Women's Well-Being and Sexuality Study found that 21 percent of younger and more educated women were using withdrawal.

Dr. Melissa Gilliam, chief of family planning and contraceptive research at the University of Chicago, worries that sexually active teens might get confusing messages if withdrawal were promoted as an option.

"It clearly has a high failure rate," she told ABCNews.com. "It should only be used as a stop-gap measure or as emergency protection."

Jones notes that hormones and the IUD (intra-uterine device) are the most effective forms of birth control. But many women can't use these longer lasting methods, and many can't afford them.

Birth control pills are typically not covered by health insurance plans and can cost $20 to $50 a month. An IUD, which lasts for up to a decade, can cost several hundred dollars for insertion at a doctor's office.

Teens Need Sex Information

"My practice is in pediatric adolescence, and I prescribe at lot of birth control for medical and contraceptive reasons," said Gilliam, who sits on the board of the Guttmacher Institute. "But even with highly effective methods there are a lot of issues of adherence. The more complex the message the more confusing it's bound to be."

She recommends "belts and suspenders" or "double Dutch," meaning both a highly effective method like pills, an IUD, injections or implants, as well as condoms to protect from infections.

An estimated 25 percent of all teens have a sexually transmitted infection, according to the CDC.

"When you are dealing with those numbers and pregnancy, it's very different message than for monogamous older couples who already have lower rates of fertility," Gilliam said.

Jones agreed teens need comprehensive information on sex.

"Anecdotally, some are using [withdrawal], and we needed to know how effective it is or not," she said. "In certain situations, it's most effective."

"If you can't take hormones, it's better than nothing," Jones said. "It's a back-up method if you forget to take pills or there are no condoms around."

Men Can't Be Trusted to Pull Out

Many women say that a birth control method that relies on the will-power of a man is doomed to fail, a problem that could be particularly evident with teens.

Heather Corinna, the founder of ScarletTeen, a Web site that discusses "sex education for the real world," said younger men have "less awareness and control" over ejaculation.

"And if we're being really forthright, we also can safely say [withdrawal] is probably the most-sabotaged method by male partners," Corinna told Salon.com.

"In other words, it's the one male partners will most often agree to, then not comply with, either by talking a female partner into just letting them ejaculate, or by saying they did so on accident when it wasn't at all accidental," she said.

But Jones suggested it wasn't fair to say that men can't be counted on to act responsibly.

"Most interesting is the response that many men can't be trusted in the heat of the moment," she said. "Sometimes it seems men can't win for losing when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. We argue that contraceptive is a couples' issue, that women should not be solely responsible, yet we don't think men can handle the responsibility."

Sex Educators Use Scare Tactics

Megan Carpentier, who wrote the Jezebel blog, "Can We Stop Shaming Women Who Practice Withdrawal Now?" argued that although the method may not work for every couple, her reader reaction illustrates the "real lack of knowledge" women have about their bodies.

"We are told only that every 28 days you bleed and you could be fertile at any time," she said. "It's a scare tactic."

"Every method requires knowledge and responsibility," said Carpentier. "Most women aren't given enough information and are scared of their bodies."

The Guttmacher report, she said, lifted the stigma that surrounded a couple's choice to use withdrawal.

"There aren't only three methods to have responsible sex," said Carpentier.

One of her readers, EvieB agreed.

Unemployed without insurance, she said she'd had "horrible experiences" with hormones and condoms.

"The withdrawal method has worked very well for me, and I'm glad to see that there is research being done to show that it's not as ineffective as people might think," said EvieB. "And maybe now I won't be seen as completely responsible for using it."
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Vaginas with teeth — and other sexual myths

Your genitals are connected to your nose. Women are infertile males. Orgasm is necessary to make a baby. Masturbation leads to insanity. Menstrual blood is actually sperm gone bad. At one time or another, medical science believed all these statements. What is it about sex that allows the imagination of doctors and the scientifically-minded to run free?

A walk down the memory lane of misbegotten sex theories reveals that such fanciful “truths” often grow from the fertile soil of bias and prejudice.

Aristotle, for example, believed that “a boy actually resembles a woman anatomically speaking and a woman is, so to speak, an infertile male. She is female because of a kind of inadequacy being unable to concoct semen from nourishment … owing to the coldness of her nature.”

The idea of a woman as an imperfect man was popular in western thought for more than a thousand years because most of the writers were men.

“That’s the most plausible theory we have: fear of female sex," said Rachel Maines, visiting scholar in Cornell University’s Department of Science and Technology Studies and author of “The Technology of Orgasm: Hysteria, Vibrators and Women’s Sexual Satisfaction.” "I mean, the vagina dentata [vagina with teeth]? If there was ever a male paranoid fantasy, that was it.”

The idea of a vagina with teeth dates as far back as Greek mythology and is rooted in the idea that the female body has hidden, dangerous secrets and that a man who has sex with a woman may risk castration. (While largely the stuff of fiction, such as the 2007 movie "Teeth," at least one real-life case has been documented. In 1989, The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology reported a benign embroid tumor containing teeth growing in the wall of a woman's vagina.)

But it's not just women who are the targets of absurd sexual myths. When the female prioress and early medieval medical thinker Hildegard of Bingen wrote “the strength of man in his genital member is turned into poisonous foam,” she wasn’t exactly giving sex with men a big thumbs up.

Myths about sex in the western world waxed and waned depending largely on the state of sexual attitudes. The more restrictive the view of sex, the more prominent medical sex myths became.

Dangerous sex
By the 1800s, fear of one gender or another had turned into fear of sex itself. Doctors promoted the idea of danger.

While advice to the newly-married up until the 1820s and 1830s often included the idea of female pleasure and the importance of clitoral stimulation, things soon began to change, said John S. Haller, professor emeritus of history and medical humanities at Southern Illinois University and author of “The Physician and Sexuality in Victorian America.”

After about 1840, Haller said, advice manuals began to focus on the vagina. “You begin to see manuals saying that women should not be experiencing that pleasure, and if they do, they are exposing themselves to harm.”

Much of this anti-sex attitude was rooted in economic class prejudice after the industrial revolution started creating the bourgeoisie. The poor, the uneducated, immigrants from southern climes, were the types to enjoy sex. Proper people didn’t.

“The ‘Irish maid’ is a good example,” Haller said. “Bourgeois people did not want them to nurse their children because of what might be carried through the breast milk; it could bring the bad traits of the Irish into the home of the Anglo-Saxon family.”

Masturbate and you'll get flat breasts
Anti-immigrant attitudes even affected the willingness of women to discuss sexual health complaints. “There was a very Protestant focus,” Haller explained, to distinguish oneself from the more swarthy, and lusty, recent arrivals. So “women were not encouraged to discuss or complain about the problems of menopause because they’d be admitting in a public way that they had abused themselves in their youth” since masturbation was thought to bring on menopause later in life.

Masturbation has a been a bugaboo for thousands of years; the Catholic Church still regards it as a disorder. In the Victorian era, after French physician Francois Lallemand published his “Practical Treatise on the Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Spermatorrhea,” something of a medical panic ensued. Doctors at a Boston insane asylum reported that inmates there masturbated and soon a flood of anxious young men flowed into clinics fearing insanity, wasting, and even death.

Self-pleasuring, a typical advice manual stated, leaves “the nerves wasted and depleted … the entire nervous system will eventually become shattered and ruined beyond all hope of complete recovery.”

Girls could be affected, too, though to a lesser degree. “Girls who have followed masturbating habits … show usually strong indications of it in the failure of their glandular development,” an advice manual stated. “Such persons are apt to be flat-breasted, or, as we term it, flat-chested."

Joy on the job
When mechanical sewing machines arrived, a few lucky women using a model with two foot pedals found that by rubbing their thighs together, they could reach orgasm, which could certainly make working in a garment factory a little more fun, but it also posed a danger. “Doctors thought all sewing machines were bad for women,” Maines explained. “They thought the women would turn into lesbians.”

Some of the advice was an attempt to apply science to what had been largely superstition or religious stricture. But science often fell flat.

In 1897, for example, German physician Wilhelm Fliess published a treatise called “The Relations Between the Nose and the Female Sexual Organs from the Aspect of Biology.” In it, Fliess expanded on an idea he’d been developing for some time, the “nasogenital reflex.”

Perhaps with the bias of his field — he was what we would now call an ear, nose and throat specialist — Fliess argued that the nose was intimately connected to our genitals and that problems with one could manifest as problems in the other. He identified a region inside the nasal cavity, a bony projection called the nasal inferior turbinate, as being especially influential.

He described a set of symptoms like headaches, aches and pains, breathing difficulties, disordered mood and difficult menstruation in women matching the 28-day female cycle (men had a 23-day cycle, he said), and argued that these symptoms often began in the nose. The result could be a full-on neurosis.

Fliess and his friend Sigmund Freud decided that one could treat the neurosis by huffing cocaine. Freud did so and it seemed to work. Voila! You could treat a genital problem — and the mental illness those problems create — by treating the nose. So Freud had Fliess operate on a woman named Emma Eckstein. Fliess removed Emma’s turbinate bone, but left a wad of gauze behind which created an infection. When the gauze was finally removed, she nearly bled to death. The episode left her disfigured for life.

Haller cautions against what he calls “presentism” when we look at such wrongheaded episodes. For example, while much of the Victorian era advice was laughably wrong, it was also progressive. An admonition that women should deny their husbands sex for up to eighteen months after the birth of a child was really a way for women to gain control of their own bodies.

We shouldn’t be too smug about our modern sexual sophistication, he said. Medical science may be getting better at figuring out what makes us tick, but it’s safe to say that some of the dogma we think is true now will later turn out to be false.
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The Pill May Limit Muscle Gains in Women

FRIDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Lower hormone levels in women who exercise regularly and take birth-control pills may result in less muscle mass increases, a new study suggests.

But the muscle-mass differences between women taking "the pill" and those not taking the pill did not affect performance.

At this point, the finding, from a study scheduled for presentation Friday at the annual meeting of the American Physiological Society in New Orleans, is no reason to stop taking oral contraceptives, experts said.

"It is premature to say anything conclusively at this point," said study lead author Chang Woock Lee, a doctoral candidate in the department of health and kinesiology at Texas A&M University, College Station. "Vigorous future studies with more stringent control and clever design will be definitely needed to confirm the results and/or elucidate the underlying mechanism conclusively."

Others agreed.
"It's just one small, a very small, group of women. If you think of how many women actually are on the pill, how significant is the difference in terms of patients noticing anything or even an actual health effect?" said Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "This might make a difference for a high-performance athlete in a competition, but, for your normal patients who have a healthy exercise routine, this might not make a difference."

"I don't disagree with the statistical significance, but the clinical significance is very questionable," added Dr. Amanda Weiss-Kelly, director of pediatric sports medicine at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, part of University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland. "The difference didn't translate into improvement in performance," she added.

There is some existing research into the effect of oral contraceptives on body composition, Weiss-Kelly said, but most studies have been small, and results have been conflicting.

The authors of the new research studied two groups of 18- to 31-year-old women: 34 who were on the pill and 39 not on the pill. All were active and healthy and took part in a 10-week resistance-exercising training program (three times a week) as well as analysis of their body composition both before and after the program.

Women not taking oral contraceptives gained more than 60 percent more muscle mass than those on the pill.

There were other changes noted in participants on the pill, including reduced concentrations of the hormone DHEA, which Lee explained, is an anabolic hormone and therefore builds muscle.

But some of these changes would be expected in women taking contraceptives, Weiss-Kelly said.
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Health Advocates Tout New Model of Female Condom

Advocates of the female condom are promoting a less costly, more user-friendly version that they hope will vastly expand its role in the global fight against AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. An early version of the female condom was introduced in 1993, and it remains the only available woman-initiated form of protection against both STDs and unintended pregnancy.

Yet despite global promotion by the United Nations and other organizations, its usage is still minuscule, even as women bear an ever-growing share of the AIDS epidemic.

Advocates hope the dynamics will change following last month's approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the FC2, a new version of the female condom produced by the Chicago-based Female Health Co.

About 35 million female condoms were distributed worldwide last year, but that compares to more than 10 billion male condoms, which are far cheaper and, at least initially, easier to use. However, in some nations with high HIV rates, many men refuse to wear condoms, putting women at risk.

Though it looks similar to its predecessor — a soft, transparent sheath with flexible inner and outer rings — the FC2 is made from synthetic rubber rather than polyurethane, making it cheaper to produce.

Mary Ann Leeper, former president of Female Health Co. and now its strategic adviser, said the FC2 also is less noisy during use. Complaints about squeaky noises were among the factors that slowed acceptance of the original version.

The cost of the FC2 is one-third less than its predecessor, and may go lower, enabling health organizations to distribute many millions more than at present. For now, the price is about 60 cents compared to less than 4 cents for mass-distributed male condoms — a difference that's an issue in the developing world.

The FC2 had been accepted previously by some international organizations, and the Female Health Co. distributed 14 million of them abroad last year along with 21 million of the older version. Advocates of the female condom praised the FDA announcement because it opens the door for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), one of the largest global providers of condoms, to distribute the FC2 overseas.

"This is a tremendous victory," said Susie Hoffman, an assistant professor of clinical epidemiology at Columbia University who contends the female condom has suffered from misconceptions.

"In the United States, there has been strong bias against it," Hoffman said. "Some people involved in AIDS and family planning would say, 'Why do we need these? ... It's so weird that women are not going to pick it up.'"

"But if presented in the right way, many women do like it," Hoffman said. "To find these people and help them and train them, you need systematic programming, which costs money."

Resistance is less of a problem in some developing nations. The U.N. Population Fund, government agencies and nonprofits are aggressively promoting female condoms in places such as Brazil, Ghana, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Women's groups in Zimbabwe collected more than 30,000 signatures demanding access to the female condom. In Ghana, nonprofits say more than 10,000 people have attended training programs that teach women how to insert female condoms — they require careful instruction to be used properly — and how to negotiate with their male partners.

"The mindset is changing, but there are still a lot of challenges," said Bidia Deperthes, the Population Fund's HIV technical adviser for condoms. "Accessibility is still minimal. There's a huge demand, and we're not meeting it."

Deperthes hopes that with FDA approval of the FC2, the number of female condoms distributed globally could climb to 50 million this year. If the numbers keep rising, she said, the cost to public-sector distributors for each FC2 could drop as low as 25 cents.

Jeff Spieler, a science adviser with USAID's Office of Population and Reproductive Health, said the female condom's future may depend on whether its promoters can develop a private-sector market. Its commercial price in the United States generally has been more than $2.

Another challenge is a stigma associated with the female condom in some places because prostitutes are among those deemed to benefit most from using it. On the other hand, advocates of the female condom say it has invaluable safe-sex potential for married women whose husbands are unfaithful and shun male condoms.

Serra Sippel, executive director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity in Washington, said FDA approval of the FC2 is a key step toward "putting the power of prevention in women's hands." But she bemoaned the product's limited over-the-counter availability.

"We'd love to see the profile raised, to have commercials about it and normalize it so people aren't embarrassed," she said.

Mary Ann Leeper said the Female Health Co. is seeking a corporate partner to help market the FC2. She suggested that concern about HIV/AIDS may generate interest among women in communities with high infection rates.

The female condom's advocates stress that it will never be the "magic bullet" that by itself turns the tide in fighting AIDS. But, they say, it should be a bigger part of the arsenal.

"It's not going to be the one answer," Hoffman said. "But it's got a lot more to contribute than it has to date."
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Truth or Myth? 7 Health-Related Sex Aids

Sexual Health Experts Discuss -- and Debunk -- Reputed Ways to Boost Your Sex Life
When it comes to health-related solutions to better sex, there seem to be few secrets, at least at first glance.

No doubt you've heard by now of the little blue pill, Viagra. Your inbox has likely been flooded at one time or another with questionable advertisements for libido enhancers and diets to increase your sex drive. You may have even done a Kegel exercise or two.

But even aside from these well-known options, there are a host of everyday activities, products and procedures that some say have the potential to spice up your sex life.

Granted, some are more myth than sensual magic. But experts in the field of sexual performance say that some of them could actually go a long way in terms of improving your bedroom performance and libido.

The following pages represent a few of the examples of products, practices and preconceptions that some look to in an effort to augment their intimate experiences. Will they work for you?

Longer-Lasting Sex -- In a Spray

Men with premature ejaculation problems may find a solution in a new formula from the United Kingdom that the British press has dubbed "liquid Viagra."

The formula, which recently completed testing in Europe, does not actually contain Viagra, but instead uses the local anesthetics lidocaine and prilocaine to numb the penis and allow men to "last longer" during intercourse.

The drug, known as PSD502, is applied topically five minutes before intercourse and was reportedly rated by two-thirds of patients as "good" or "excellent." Men applying the drug also reported intercourse lasted more than six times longer than before.

According to the researchers, among the 300 men in the study and their female partners, there were few instances of any side effects.

Although erectile dysfunction makes more headlines, experts in sexual health say premature ejaculation is much more common, especially among younger men.

"This is a bona fide company trying to develop a bona fide care for a bona fide problem," Irwin Goldstein, director of San Diego Sexual Medicine at Alvarado Hospital, said of the spray.

Goldstein said ejaculation is normally a reflex that can be controlled to a degree, similar to urination. But in premature ejaculation, "That fires without the person's permission."

Could It Help Your Sex Life?

Daniel Watter, a clinical psychologist, board certified sex therapist based in Parsippany, N.J., said that the spray was probably safe. But he added that the numbing properties of the treatment could have some drawbacks. Specifically, he said, taking the sensation away from a crucial part of the penis could hurt some men's ability to control their ejaculation.

"If you want good ejaculatory control, you have to pay attention to what's going on in your body," he said. "You have to pay attention to where your arousal is."

Linda De Villers, a Los Angeles-based sex therapist and author of "Love Skills," agreed. "I think most of us think it's a bad idea," she said. "It's sort of anti-pleasure focused, saying, 'Let's numb you out and dumb you down.'"

Still, the U.K. proprietors of the formula note in their research that since the solution is applied only to a small part of the penis, men who use it properly should be able to maintain most of the sensation that they would normally experience.

Fun Condoms

When it comes to condoms, most of the discussion revolves around the prevention of pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease, rather than fun.

But with the increasing array of condoms on the market with pleasure-enhancing properties -- including twisted and ribbed textures -- some sexual health experts hope that these prophylactics will be able to adopt a more recreational image.

The issue of fun condoms has even worked its way into the scientific literature. In a 2006 issue of the U.K. medical journal Lancet, authors of a "Viewpoint" article said that campaigns promoting condom use should emphasize how they can enhance the "fun factor" of sex.

"Since pursuit of pleasure is one of the main reasons that people have sex, this factor must be addressed when motivating people to use condoms and participate in safer sexual behavior," the authors say in the "Viewpoint."

Could It Help Your Sex Life?

De Villers said that the idea may indeed be catching on with at least some people.

"I have known a few women to say they've actually noticed a difference," she said. "I'd say it's in the different strokes for different folks category. ... If you believe it feels good, maybe it feels good."

The other advantage to pleasure-producing condoms? They tend to be far less expensive and complex than other health-related strategies to boost your sex life.

"Try them, you might like them," De Villers said. "How can they be harmful?"

At the time the Lancet article was published, Suzie Heumann, president of Tantra.com Inc. and author of "The Everything Great Sex Book," said, "Condoms could actually be the new sex toys of the future -- and without batteries -- with design changes, additions, and a new advert campaign."

Vaginal Rejuvenation

To some, it may seem extreme. But some women are willing to go under the knife for so-called "vaginal rejuvenation" -- a variety of surgical procedures designed to either improve the aesthetic appearance of the vagina or improve sensations during sex.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has already taken a stance against such procedures; in August 2007, the organization issued a statement urging women to stay away.

Such procedures are not "accepted and routine surgical practices," the opinion reads. "Absence of data supporting the safety and efficacy of these procedures makes their recommendation untenable."

Still, some doctors stand behind the methods as needed surgery for some women whose vaginal structure causes them pain or difficulty during sex.

"I think people should get to make their own decisions about their bodies as long as doctors are making them informed consumers," Dr. John Miklos, director of the Atlanta Urogynecology Associates, Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Institute of Atlanta Medical Research Institute, said at the time the College of Obstetricians released its statement. "It's a woman's right to say, 'I don't like the way my labia look.'"

Vaginal rejuvenation also refers to such procedures as revirginization, which seeks to create the effect of a restored hymen, and G-spot amplification, in which a filling agent is injected into the front inner wall of the vagina in order to increase sensation.

Could It Help Your Sex Life?

Watter said he is not surprised that vaginal rejuvenation procedures have become popular in certain circles.

"People go for plastic surgery all the time, so it's just a matter of time before the vagina is a part of that," he said. But, he added, "The effect they have on sexual performance is minimal."

For this and other reasons, De Villers said she could not advocate the procedure under most circumstances.

"It's really radical, and most women have perfectly normal vaginas," De Villers said. "I do not recommend it."

The exception, she said, is when a doctor might suggest restructuring after a woman gives birth if there is a high degree of stretching and incontinence.

Penile Enhancement Surgery

Women are not the only ones to look for a surgical solution to better sex. Some men seek a surgeon's help when it comes to getting a longer or thicker penis.

Dr. Darius Paduch, a urologist at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, who is an expert in male sexual function, said the idea that a larger penis may lead to more pleasurable sex is not an unfounded one, as past research has shown that length and thickness plays a part in the orgasm of a female partner.

"From the female perspective, penis size and girth matters," Paduch said.

But the surgical procedures that lead to a larger penis are not without risks. Paduch said that if improperly done, serious injury can result. He noted that while some of these injuries come from botched surgery at the hands of an untrained practitioner, others are the result of a man using a device or technique in an attempt to lengthen his penis on his own.

In the latter category, he said he has seen men who have come in with serious damage to the nerves and blood vessels in their penises.

The surgery to lengthen a penis also involves the cutting of the suspensory ligament, a tough band of tissue that anchors the penis to the pubic bone. Severing this connection does allow for greater length, but it can also mean less control and a decrease in erection angle.

Likewise, surgical procedures to increase the thickness of the penis also have their potential complications. One approach, which involves removing fat from one part of the body and injecting it into the shaft of the penis, has already been branded with a strong contraindication by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

"Enlargement of the penis by fat injection is considered an experimental high-risk procedure, and there is currently insufficient data to establish its safety and effectiveness," the society states on its Web site.

Could It Help Your Sex Life?

For men with certain medical conditions that affect the size of their penis, it is likely that such surgical interventions could have some positive effect. But for most men, Paduch said, the need for such surgery exists only in their minds.

"The problem is that a lot of men have this gym locker room complex," he said. "The overall message is that there is definitely something about length and girth, but most men are of average size when erect -- about 5¼ to 5½ inches in length.

"I have never had a male patient who, after the reassurance that they are of a normal size, tells me that they still want to have something done."

The 'Orgasmatron'

The idea is, for lack of a better term, seductive. Implant a few electrodes close to your spinal nerves, turn a dial on a box, and sit back while you experience an intense orgasm.

Such a device was what Dr. Stuart Meloy, a pain specialist in Winston-Salem, N.C., accidentally devised while using a spinal stimulator to treat chronic pain. While the idea behind the device was to feed an electrical current into spinal nerves to override pain signals, the device had an unintended side effect on female patients.

"When we turned on the power in this case, she let out a moan and began hyperventilating," Meloy said on ABC News' "Good Morning America" in 2004. "Of course, we cut the power and I looked around the drapes and asked her what was going on. Once she caught her breath, she said, 'You're going to have to teach my husband how to do that.'"

The technique, which Meloy termed Neurally Augmented Sexual Function, led to hopes that thousands of women who have trouble achieving orgasm would one day be able to take advantage of the device, which has since earned the moniker "orgasmatron" in the popular media.

But since Meloy began work on the technique in 1998, a number of barriers have kept it off the market. For now, Meloy said, development has stalled.

"'Hiatus' is the best way to put it," he said.

Not that the technique doesn't work, or that the patients who have tried it have had much to complain about. Meloy said that the few studies he has completed have yielded overall positive results.

But for most people, even those diagnosed with sexual dysfunction, the idea of surgery to improve their sex lives is too extreme. The fact that the equipment currently carries a $25,000 to $30,000 price tag has also contributed to a slow adoption of the technology.

Meloy said he eventually hopes to scale down the size and power of the device to make it both more manageable and less costly. But this, he said, could take time.

"I'm now on year 11 of this odyssey," Meloy said. "Luckily, I have a day job I like."

Application solely for the purpose of sexual function appears to still be a ways off. Add to that the idea that surgery is necessary to reap the benefits of the device, and the barriers to widespread use of this treatment today become apparent.

"Few people are so far willing to spend that kind of money," Meloy said. And, as for the surgery, he added, "I don't like the phrase minor surgery. If it was by body and a knife, it's a big deal to me."

Still, it's hard to say what buttons society may be able to push in the future to help give stalling sex lives a much-needed jolt.

High Heels

For those who think high heels are sexy, there may be one more reason to support this opinion, at least according to an Italian study published last year.

Dr. Maria Angela Cerruto, a urologist at the University of Verona, Italy, published research that suggests that the posture that women adopt while wearing heels can tone the muscles in her abdomen and pelvic floor.

The small study of 66 women was published last spring in the journal European Urology.

"We now hope to prove that wearing heels during daily activity may reduce the need for pelvic exercises," Cerruto told ABC News' Ann Wise shortly before the study was published.

Could It Help Your Sex Life?

Cerruto said the research would be great news for women who not only struggle with regular exercising, but who are also supposed to remember to do the pelvic floor exercises known as Kegels.

But De Villers said she remained skeptical. She said that she has never heard of benefits of high-heeled shoes, other than that they can make you more body conscious so that you suck it in.

And Watter expressed his own concerns about the finding.

"I don't think I've ever heard a woman who likes wearing high heels," Watter said, adding that he has "never been told by women that heels are helpful for their sex life."

Exercise

Could adding a bit more physical activity to your schedule help you get more physical in the bedroom?

It's a much-touted link that has more than a few purported celebrity adherents. Recently, it was reported that even French President Nicolas Sarkozy had adopted an exercise regimen that his personal trainer Julie Imperiali told the U.K. paper The Telegraph helped him reap fringe benefits in the form of improved sex, thanks to her Tectonic method of exercise that targets muscles in the pelvic floor.

When contacted by ABCNews.com, Imperiali declined to comment further. But past research is chock full of other data that seem to indicate a link between exercise and an improved sex life.

One example of such research is a study published in the August 2003 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, which found that exercise improved erections and reduced the risk of impotence in men older than 50.

This finding was supported in another small study published in the June 23, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that exercise and a reduced-calorie diet could help correct erectile dysfunction in obese men.

And other research points to the benefits of improved circulation from regular exercise that can enhance sexual performance.

Could It Help Your Sex Life?

De Villers said she believes there is little doubt that feeling the burn in the gym also leads to more heat in bed.

"I am a huge fan of exercise and that should truly be promoted," she said. "I would encourage couples to take a walk or play tennis and come home and hop in the sack."

Aside from the immediate effects of exercise, she noted that over the long term an exercise regimen can enhance circulation, reduce cholesterol and increase flexibility -- all good news for sexual performance.

"People who have clogged arteries and diabetes don't have a good sex life," she said, adding that "getting into fun positions requires muscle strength and flexibility."

While Watter said that to his knowledge there exists direct correlation between sex drive or performance and exercise, he said being in better shape certainly won't hurt your sex life, and it may even help.

"If you are in good physical shape and you exercise regularly, there's a chance exercise makes sex better, like it makes every other activity better," he said.
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