'What happens to the baby?' And 16 other questions you've probably googled about pregnancy sex.

Growing a real-life human inside of you – with all its limbs and organs and teeny, tiny toes – still remains one of life’s greatest mysteries to me. (Also, aeroplanes. I just don’t get it. What keeps them up?) 

But what I really want to know is this: while a woman’s body is physically gestating the sheer miracle that is life, can she still, comfortably and safely, get her own kicks?

Yes, I’m talking about sex. 

Watch: Embarrassing pregnancy sex stories. Post continues after video.

Sure, they’ve already done the deed and planted the seed, and are now in for that nine-month haul, but mums-to-be should still be able to have their worlds rocked, right?!

But I’m sure they’ve all got questions because I sure as heck do. I mean, can the penis poke the baby?

So I went straight to an expert, Dr Manuela Toledo – a fertility specialist at Melbourne IVF – who was able to dispel a few of the myths (*spoiler alert* you cannot poke a baby with a penis) and clear up a few concerns.

She said sex during pregnancy is a totally healthy way couples can connect, and women can “absolutely” have an orgasm. In fact, maybe an even more intense orgasm.

“I think sex during pregnancy helps couples grow even closer,” Dr Toledo told Mamamia.

Image: Getty Images.

“It is a nesting time and everyone will interpret that a little bit differently. Some couples will just want to nest and not have penetrative sex – they might enjoy cuddling and having that physical closeness – and then for other couples, it's a really exciting new phase of their life and it brings them closer. 

"And that's what sex is really all about, isn't it? Bringing a couple closer together.”

Here, she dishes out the answers to the questions we all want to know. 

Is it safe to have sex while pregnant?

"The simple answer to that is yes. If you're healthy and you're pregnant, and you're not bleeding or having any pain and you feel like you want to have sex, then that's absolutely fine."

Can sex cause a miscarriage? 

"No, it can't cause a miscarriage. But if you are having a miscarriage or you're having a threatened miscarriage – for example, if you're having some bleeding in early pregnancy – we wouldn’t recommend that you undertake any strenuous activity including sex."

Is it painful to have sex while pregnant? 

"It shouldn't be painful to have sex while pregnant but it might be a little bit different to having sex when you're not pregnant. Especially as you're getting bigger and your tummy’s growing, a lot of women do find that they want to change positions and maybe not have the traditional missionary position that they may have enjoyed prior to pregnancy. So women and couples do get a little bit creative during pregnancy."

Can sex cause bleeding? 

"It shouldn't cause bleeding, so if you experience bleeding during sex, you do need to go see your doctor, have it checked out, and make sure that your cervical screening test is up to date and that you don't have any infections, and aren’t having a miscarriage. You shouldn't be bleeding during or after sex if you're pregnant; in fact, you shouldn't be bleeding during or after sex even if you're not pregnant. If you do, it is something that should be investigated."

Listen to The Glorious Bump discuss sex while pregnant. Post continues after podcast.

Can sex help pregnancy sickness?

"It can be very distracting in a good way. Some women do report back that it takes their mind off things like morning sickness but it does depend on how bad your morning sickness is. I think it's fair to say that some women who experience quite significant morning sickness probably will not want to have sex."

Are there any positions to avoid while pregnant?

"There’s no particular position we say is unsafe, so long as the woman feels comfortable and isn’t in pain, but the missionary position can be difficult and I think most women would agree with that. So a lot of women will prefer positions where there's no pressure on their tummy. So maybe the woman sitting astride the man or the woman being on top, or the man being behind the woman. It really depends on what the couple is comfortable with but it might be a really good time to start experimenting."

How can you make sex more comfortable?

"A lot of women might use a pillow to support their tummy and their hips. It's really all about just finding the position you feel comfortable in and communicating with your partner to make sure they are on board with what's happening."

Can sex cause a UTI?

"Sex can always cause a UTI and unfortunately in pregnancy you are a little bit more prone to them. If you're someone who has had UTIs in the past, then unfortunately during pregnancy you might be a little bit more at risk. So it's really important that if you're experiencing any burning [during] urination, or any pain during or after sex, you see a doctor. A good way of preventing UTIs is to make sure that you're always well-hydrated and to urinate immediately after sex. That really does reduce the risk of a UTI."

Can a sexually transmitted infection (STI) be passed on to the baby?

"You always want to make sure that your sexual partner is STI-free. Ideally during pregnancy, you'll be having sex with a partner that you know and trust, and you're confident that they are not going to pass an STI on to you. The main problem with an STI in pregnancy is that it could potentially induce a miscarriage or early onset labour if it’s not treated. The baby itself is not so much at risk directly, but there have been reports of babies born and acquiring STIs during birth from the birth canal. Fortunately, nowadays in the Western world, that will be a fairly rare occurrence. But if you have any symptoms of an STI, like unusual pain or vaginal discharge, or you're not quite sure about the partner you’ve been with, then you would want to get that investigated as soon as possible and then treat it."

Is it possible to get pregnant with another child if you don’t use protection? 

"That would be a very unlikely scenario. I mean, we have very rare case reports of someone having multiple partners and then ending up with a twin situation where the twins are from different partners, but that would be a very unlikely situation. So theoretically, it's possible, but we're not really seeing that."

Image: Getty Images.

What happens to the baby during sex? 

"The baby is usually blissfully unaware! In human females, the baby's cocooned in the amniotic fluid. It's like a fluid bubble that protects the baby from any trauma in the shock-absorbent area that it's in. The baby will probably sleep through the whole thing!"

Is there any chance that sex could hurt the baby?

"No. Consensual sex, that is not uncomfortable for the woman, where both partners are actively engaged in supporting each other, will not hurt the baby."

Can the baby feel the penis? 

"No, again because of that amniotic fluid bubble I spoke about. The baby is protected and can't feel the penis. We have to remember that the baby is safely cocooned in the woman's uterus and the opening to the uterus, the cervix, is quite long and closed in a normal pregnancy, so is an additional protective layer or buffer."

Is it normal to have no libido whilst pregnant? 

"Absolutely. When women are pregnant, their estrogen levels can be quite high and this does affect the way they think and interact with their surroundings, and it also can affect their libido. Some women do want to have sex in pregnancy and their libido is quite high, but in other women, it has exactly the opposite effect. They really go into that nurturing, mothering role and they're just not that interested in sex. Interestingly, some men aren’t interested in sex either. They’re more focused on their partner and wanting to protect and nurture them. So it really is quite individual, and it varies from couple to couple."

Why do I crave sex more during pregnancy?

"It's that sudden change in hormones. The hormonal status. In some women, oestrogen really is a happy hormone. It makes them feel good, especially once that morning sickness phase has passed, usually in the second trimester. That's a really common time for women to start re-engaging with their surroundings now they're not feeling sick anymore, and they really do crave and want to have sex. That's not a bad thing and they should just go with it, if that's the way they're feeling."

Do you get hornier if you’re pregnant with a boy, or is it an old wives' tale?

"I don't think there are any scientific studies on that. There is some evidence that the hormones in boys and girls vary a little bit, and there is some evidence that the HCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin), or the pregnancy hormone, can sometimes be a little bit higher in women who are having boys. Hence, sometimes a woman having a boy might have a little bit more morning sickness than if they were having a girl, and that may also influence their libido and their sex drive."

Image: Getty Images.

Will I still be able to orgasm while pregnant? 

"Oh, absolutely yes, and I think that's an important thing to understand, too, that sex is not just about penetrative sex. There are obviously other ways to engage in sexual activity – and definitely, women can climax, and sometimes more intensely. I think this could be because most women are happy and relaxed when they're pregnant and their morning sickness phase is over, especially in the early second trimester. They’re excited about the baby they're going to have... and they're really having sex for fun rather than having sex to try to make a baby. It’s just a really exciting time of life and it’s a big change for the couple."

Can sex bring on labour? 

"We hear all the time, anecdotally, that women go into labour in the third trimester after having sex. It probably helps kick off those labour hormones, and in some women, it may break their waters if they have sex very close to their time of delivery. I think part of it is that the woman is enjoying sex and maybe having an orgasm and having this really heightened hormonal response. Certainly, it's not a situation where we would encourage women to have sex if they're not feeling like it, but if they are feeling like it and they're close to their due date, they may well break the waters and/or bring on labour."

Image: Getty Images + supplied.