Is it a sin to have sex when your wife is pregnant?

[strngrnrth]

Unless you knew at the moment of conception, I’m sure that you had sex during the very beginnings of your pregnancy. And the child was there then…

A few seconds later the child was there, I think, but not during the act itself. I just can’t get comfortable with the idea.

 

[surfinpure]

A few seconds later the child was there, I think, but not during the act itself. I just can’t get comfortable with the idea.

Give yourself time. It’s probably something most of us struggle with, if not in the early weeks, certainly toward the latter part of the first pregnancy. But after a few children, you may well find yourself much more at ease with the idea. Truly, they have no idea what is going on. And the hormones released to the mother actually do have a wonderful calming effect on her, which in turn is good for the baby.

 

[Newbie2]

This is a time for the husband to follow the wife’s lead. You’re not in charge here, she is.
Matthew

When is the husband EVER in charge in these such matters?

Myself, I’m against sex during pregnancy for several reasons. One, I consider it sex in the presence of a child even if the baby doesn’t know. .

You lost me. Proximity is the issue?

 

[zootjeff]

So long as the pregnancy is normal and healthy, and the sex is with said wife, it’s not an issue. Now, at certain points, my wife’s doc said to have sex with a condom only, so during those points, no, it’s not acceptable.

How can sex with condoms during an obvious pregnancy be prohibited? Can I get some sources on this? I know it’s not in the Bible, because condoms didn’t exist then. I see the use as birth control as a problem, but sheesh! this is a birth and sometimes the technique is helpful to get the baby out healthy and quickly. If the doctor says the condoms are helpful to prevent infection why would you want to potentially sentence the baby to death from infection? I’m lost on this one…

 

[PatienceAndLove]

How can sex with condoms during an obvious pregnancy be prohibited? Can I get some sources on this? I know it’s not in the Bible, because condoms didn’t exist then. I see the use as birth control as a problem, but sheesh! this is a birth and sometimes the technique is helpful to get the baby out healthy and quickly. If the doctor says the condoms are helpful to prevent infection why would you want to potentially sentence the baby to death from infection? I’m lost on this one…

I think he meant sex with pregnant wife is no go if condoms are required.

 

[Newbie2]

So long as the pregnancy is normal and healthy, and the sex is with said wife, it’s not an issue. Now, at certain points, my wife’s doc said to have sex with a condom only, so during those points, no, it’s not acceptable.

Now there’s an interesting issue…condom use during intercourse with one’s pregnant wife.

Not acceptable? I’d take issue on this one, my argument being predicated on the knowledge of the married couple that the wife was indeed pregnant:

1. Marital acts of intercourse are supposed to be open to the possibility of new life. Interference with that act, whether chemical or physical is contraception.
2. Intercourse with one’s pregnant wife is not forbidden.
3. There is no way that intercourse during pregnancy will result in a pregnancy. Not a “slim” or “very unlikely occurance”. It cannot happen.
4. It is therefore not possible for an act of intercourse between a married couple in which the wife is known to be pregnant to be open to the possibility of new life. The only reason for condom use during this time is to possibly prevent infection, not for contraception.

i.e. condom use during this time is not contraceptive. Why would it not be acceptable?

This is not to say that abstaining isn’t a bad idea, particularly if the wife is in advanced pregnancy and it’s uncomfortable and…this argument is only valid if the wife is known or proven to be pregnant.

Morally speaking, what difference is there bewteen condom use during confirmed pregnancy in a married couple that it is medically advisable as a precaution against infection, and a married couple in which the wife is sterile (i.e. had a hysterectomy) and it is medically advisable for the husband to use a condom to prevent infection? Neither couple is contracepting.

 

[steveandersen]

A few seconds later the child was there, I think, but not during the act itself. I just can’t get comfortable with the idea.

That is a very modern notion

For most of human history privacy was (and in some places in the world still is) a luxury

Back to the OP
No problem at all
Enjoy that second trimester
Eat your wheaties

 

[PatienceAndLove]

1. There is no way that intercourse during pregnancy will result in a pregnancy. Not a “slim” or “very unlikely occurance”. It cannot happen.

I don’t have time to find it now, but I know there are instances where women have become pregnant with children that are not the same age (as in, she was pregnant with one and then got pregnant with the other a few months later while gestating the first child).
It’s rare, but it happens.

 

[Newbie2]

I’d like to see evidence of that…early on, perhaps if an egg is fertilized and a second egg later on before the cervix closed up for the duration of the pregnancy, yes, that can happen. Once the cervix closes, that’s it.

But at 6 or 8 months along in the pregnancy? I’d like to see some credible evidence of that. If that is the case, of course, I stand corrected.

 

[surfinpure]

I’d like to see evidence of that…early on, perhaps if an egg is fertilized and a second egg later on before the cervix closed up for the duration of the pregnancy, yes, that can happen. Once the cervix closes, that’s it.

But at 6 or 8 months along in the pregnancy? I’d like to see some credible evidence of that. If that is the case, of course, I stand corrected.

Wouldn’t that be something?! “I’m sorry to inform you, Mrs. Brown, but you will not be having one baby; you will be having three, because you continued to ovulate after your first baby was concieved. What can I say? Should have used a condom!”

 

[PennitentMan]

So, everyone says that it’s good and fine to have sex with your wife whe pregnant.

But let’s look at the CCC:
2366 …So the Church, which is “on the side of life,” teaches that “it is necessary that each and every marriage act remain ordered per se to the procreation of human life.” “This particular doctrine, expounded on numerous occasions by the Magisterium, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.”

How do you reconcile that with the advice given.

If the Church is so strict on never seperating the pro-creative and Unitive act (Which, by the way, forms the whole basis for their Contraception reasoning) why is this allowed?

To follow the Church teachings, It is a grave matter to have intercourse whilst a woman is pregnant, since you will always be closed to life in that situation.

 

[zootjeff]

Wouldn’t that be something?! “I’m sorry to inform you, Mrs. Brown, but you will not be having one baby; you will be having three, because you continued to ovulate after your first baby was concieved. What can I say? Should have used a condom!”

Situation: Sex is recommended by the doctor in the 9th month to stimulate contractions. Wife is also prone to infection. Therefor sex with a condom is suggested. Because of religious misconceptions, neither is engaged in, thus baby is born late after placenta started to breakdown, or is required to be born by cesarean.

Whats the problem with the condoms? For reference, my wife is 9 months pregnant NOW and they suggest we have sex to move the process along. They don’t suggest we us condoms, but if they did, I wouldn’t have any problem with it.

No doctor is going to recommend sex with condoms when trying to conceive…

 

[steveandersen]

…

To follow the Church teachings, It is a grave matter to have intercourse whilst a woman is pregnant, since you will always be closed to life in that situation.

Nonsense

By your logic sex after menopause or even just during infertile periods are not allowed either.

 

[PennitentMan]

Oh, it’s not my locig…hence the quotes.

And yes, it does appera that the paragraphs on the procreative and unitive aspects of sex is written to support your theroy.

Where does the Church teach otherwise? All I can find on sex in marriage enforces very strictly that the procreative and unitive aspects of sex cannot be seperated, ever.

It’s not my logic, it’s the Church’s teaching.

 

[steveandersen]

Oh, it’s not my locig…hence the quotes.

And yes, it does appera that the paragraphs on the procreative and unitive aspects of sex is written to support your theroy.

Where does the Church teach otherwise? All I can find on sex in marriage enforces very strictly that the procreative and unitive aspects of sex cannot be seperated, ever.

It’s not my logic, it’s the Church’s teaching.

Or rather what you think is the Church’s logic

The procreative aspects means the couple must be open to the possibility of life.
Not that sex is only for procreation.

Thus if (as in the OT) a post menopausal women or a women practicing NFP suddenly finds herself pregnant the couple must be willing to accept that life.

Granted a woman in her 70’s or several months pregnant isn’t going too far out on a limb with this one but miracles do happen.

 

[surfinpure]

So, everyone says that it’s good and fine to have sex with your wife whe pregnant.

But let’s look at the CCC:
2366 …So the Church, which is “on the side of life,” teaches that “it is necessary that each and every marriage act remain ordered per se to the procreation of human life.” “This particular doctrine, expounded on numerous occasions by the Magisterium, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.”

How do you reconcile that with the advice given.

If the Church is so strict on never seperating the pro-creative and Unitive act (Which, by the way, forms the whole basis for their Contraception reasoning) why is this allowed?

To follow the Church teachings, It is a grave matter to have intercourse whilst a woman is pregnant, since you will always be closed to life in that situation.

Let’s have the whole picture, shall we?

CCC 2370
Periodic continence, that is the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality. These methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom.

Now, since pregnancy is a naturally infertile period, what the blazes is wrong with sex during pregnancy?

 

[surfinpure]

Situation: Sex is recommended by the doctor in the 9th month to stimulate contractions. Wife is also prone to infection. Therefor sex with a condom is suggested. Because of religious misconceptions, neither is engaged in, thus baby is born late after placenta started to breakdown, or is required to be born by cesarean.

Whats the problem with the condoms? For reference, my wife is 9 months pregnant NOW and they suggest we have sex to move the process along. They don’t suggest we us condoms, but if they did, I wouldn’t have any problem with it.

No doctor is going to recommend sex with condoms when trying to conceive…

I understand, and I agree. I was merely being facetious. Probably should have used more smilies. :bounce: Just like to be conservative with those darn things!

 

[surfinpure]

Oh, it’s not my locig…hence the quotes.

And yes, it does appera that the paragraphs on the procreative and unitive aspects of sex is written to support your theroy.

Where does the Church teach otherwise? All I can find on sex in marriage enforces very strictly that the procreative and unitive aspects of sex cannot be seperated, ever.

It’s not my logic, it’s the Church’s teaching.

Check out Humanae Vitae, by Pope Paul XI. You’ll find that there are circumstances (physiological, social, economic, and psychological) under which it is permitted that couples use NFP – meaning sex only during infertile periods – to avoid or postpone a pregnancy. This is straight from the Holy See. Can’t get much more supportive than that.

 

[tomarin]

I don’t have time to find it now, but I know there are instances where women have become pregnant with children that are not the same age (as in, she was pregnant with one and then got pregnant with the other a few months later while gestating the first child).
It’s rare, but it happens.

how is this possible, anatomically speaking? as i understand it, to become pregnant, a woman has to have an egg residing in her womb, waiting to be fertilized. this obviously isn’t possible for a pregnant woman because 1. she already has a fetus in her womb and 2. knowing this, her body stops ovulating, i.e. sending unfertilized eggs to her womb, once she conceives.

am i wrong here? please tell me if so because my wife is 3 months pregnant.

 

[newbetx]

Hi all,

I have a rather weird question to ask. I am sure some of you will be laughing at me.

2 nights ago my wife want to have sex with me but I was a little reluctant to do so because I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to do it whilst she was expecting. She got alittle upset and was whinning about how she didn’t feel sexy and that I thought she was fat (I never ever said that in my life she will always be beautiful to me). It’s not because I didn’t love her but I wasn’t sure if it was sinful or not and weather it would harm the baby.

I am not a theology expert but I am pretty sure that in the bible there are passages pertaining to when you are not allowed to have sex with your wife. at least that is what I have been told.

Thanks

Congrats on your future child, Patrick. You are not the only one to worry about sex and the baby. It’s natural. It is fine to have sex with your wife if she is willing and medically able.

I’m sorry that some on CAF tend to make things even more confusting by quoting out of context and inserting their own opinions. As an example, Pope John Paul II, created the discussions that comprise TOB. I put my faith in his leadership. Some on this forum actually say he was wrong.

Please take the time to educate yourself on the Theology of the Body. There are several books out there. Christopher West’s are my favorite, but there are many other good ones. TOB is the wonderful way to look at your relationship with your wife and how it is “good” in the eyes of God. And a great basis for teaching your kids about the value of relationships in this oversexed world.

www.christopherwest.com
www.theologyofthebody.net
www.tobinstitute.org/

Peace to you, your wife and the fruit of your love!