Enhancing Postpartum Sex

If you're leery about having postpartum sex, you're not alone. Most women have fears about resuming their sex lives after delivering a baby. Perhaps the main thing to understand is that your body has changed, so it is natural that sex too will change and be a different experience. Here follows some tips and tricks for easing your way back into your love life.

* Take your time. Your partner may be anxious to make love, but he will need to take a deep breath and be patient. You mustn't have sex until you are ready in both body and mind. Otherwise, you may do irreparable damage to your relationship.

*Be creative. Perhaps you can try taking a bath or shower together. This will inject some fun and excitement into your love life, making it new and irresistible.

*Use contraception. Don't count on nursing or just having delivered as factors that can protect you against another pregnancy. Don't look back with regret because you took a risk.

Alone Time

Study Shows Breastfeeding Has Anti-Aging Effect on Breast Appearance

POSTED BY CERIDWEN 

Who cares about reduced ear infections and handful of IQ points? It turns out breastfeeding has another, far more superficial perk: an anti-aging effect on your breasts.

A study of identical twins suggests that breastfeeding, daily moisturizing and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) enhance the appearance of a woman’s breasts while smoking, drinking, high BMI, large cup size and multiple pregnancies can do the opposite.

The study, called “”Determinants of Breast Appearance and Aging in Twins,” was published this week in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

Researchers studied the breast appearance and lifestyles of 161 sets of female twins between the ages of 25-74.

“It’s very rare that both twins have been through the same exact environmental factors throughout life,”said study author, plastic surgeon Hooman T. Soltanian “The idea was that they have the same [breasts] from a genetic standpoint. If we see a difference, it’s more likely to be environmental factors.”

Women were interviewed about pregnancies, HRT, beauty routines, sun exposure, bras and other pertinent issues. Then their breasts were photographed and evaluated by “independent reviewers” for attractiveness. (Though breast attractiveness is obviously subjective, generally speaking they were looking at perkiness, shape, skin tone and areola size.) Then they looked at the data and tried to figure out what was helping and what wasn’t. Moisturizing seemed to come up pretty quickly as a good thing. HRT after menopause seemed to help.