Normal age for sexual activity. Why do gynecologists ask about the age of onset of sexual activity. Women are much less likely than men to have orgasms.
Experts from the University of Cambridge conducted a comparative analysis and found that over a hundred years, the age of onset of the first menstruation in girls decreased from 18 years in 1880 to 12.5 on average in the world in 1980. Scientists name different reasons for such changes, for example, improved living conditions and nutrition. Another reason is the unfavorable environmental situation. One way or another, but the result is the same: girls mature earlier.
Continuing research, scientists from Cambridge studied the genetic data of about 400 thousand people. Their goal was to find out exactly which genes influence the age of onset of sexual activity. The study found 38 gene variants that can be linked to age at first sexual experience. Scientists have found that the age of onset of sexual activity, in addition to the social environment and upbringing, is influenced by the genetic factor. These studies were published in the journal Nature Genetics.
If a girl starts a sexual life too early, then mostly negative changes occur in her body. Early sexual relations in adolescence is, first of all, an irreparable harm to health: the girl quickly gets tired, she loses interest in learning, and her favorite hobbies cease to be. Alas, studies conducted by Moscow doctors have shown that in modern Russia, up to 50 percent of girls lose their virginity as soon as they reach the age of fifteen.
Another thing is when young people start their sexual life on time. For girls, according to Russian doctors, this age ranges from 18 to 20 years. First of all, by this time, the girl's psyche is maturing, and this is very important. Otherwise, it can leave a negative imprint on all subsequent sexual relations.
As for physiology, for the body the beginning of sexual relations is stressful even in the case of psychological and physiological maturation. Doctor of Medical Sciences Svetlana Yureneva says that stress itself can cause hormonal imbalances, which can result in weight loss or weight gain. As a rule, the first sexual experience triggers a whole chain of signals indicating that a woman is ready to perform a childbearing function.
But if all this is more related to the field of psychology, then the loss of the hymen destroys the barrier that prevents the penetration of various foreign pathogenic bacteria into the body. The body becomes vulnerable to all sorts of diseases, including venereal ones. But this is only if the partner is sick.
Other changes include painful periods, vaginal discharge of an unusual color and smell, itching, burning, discomfort in the external genital organs, or when urinating.
All of the above are negative consequences. However, there are also positive ones. For example, if the menstrual cycle was unstable, it can normalize. As soon as sexual life becomes regular, the amount of female sex hormones in the body increases, as a result of which the figure begins to change: the lines of the body become smooth, and the body itself acquires magnificent forms. In gynecology, many cases have been recorded when, before the onset of sexual activity, girls suffered from periodic pain in the abdomen, especially during menstruation. After the onset of sexual activity, they got rid of these problems once and for all.
And finally, scientists from Harvard found that with the help of sex, the most powerful biochemical processes are triggered: testosterone, oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, endorphins are produced, while the level of glycogen in the body decreases. According to the apt expression of the Americans, “it is no coincidence that sex is called the most tangible remedy for depression.
And doctors from Switzerland have found that after the start of regular sex (1-2 times a week), partners strengthen their immune system.
Almost in all countries of the world, with some exceptions, there are no strict age limits for the onset of sexual activity among young people. Each person decides for himself when he first make love with a partner. But doctors have their own conclusions on this matter and they are based on human physiology and psychology.
When the hormonal system is ready
Scientists from the University of California, Irvine, have long established that the first sexual experience affects the entire future sexual and psychological life of a person. In the United States, the average rate of initiation of sexual intercourse among adolescents varies between 14 and 17 years of age. And often this does not begin on the basis of flashed romantic feelings, but under the pressure of teenage society and the aggressive influence of the media. Meanwhile, the period of 14-15 years, according to American psychologists, is the most dangerous for the onset of sexual activity in both girls and boys. The hormonal system has just begun its work, some types of secretion are not yet sufficiently developed, and a full-fledged sexual experience that brings pleasure to both partners is still impossible in principle. Meanwhile, disappointment and painful sensations very often leave people with psychological trauma for life. American psychologists call a figure of 40% - these are already adult citizens who needed the help of a sexologist in order to establish their further intimate life after the first early sexual contact. 12% is the average number of patients that American psychologists classify as so-called asexuals, who became so because of their first few unsuccessful sexual contacts. But these are statistical data compiled on the basis of the anamnesis of people who have applied for professional psychological help. The real picture of the sex life of today's adult Americans is even worse. This is confirmed by surveys among married couples aged 30 to 38 years. The average number of sexual contacts they have is 1-2 times a month. Psychologists from the University of California are sure that in order to continue a long and happy sex life, the first joint intimate experiences should occur among young people exclusively against the background of a strong emotional attachment to each other and between 18 and 21 years old, when the human endocrine system is not only fully formed, but and has already begun its work in the maximum mode. The theoretical data obtained by that time, including on methods of contraception, will only help to ensure that the impressions from the first sexual contact remain extremely positive.
When is physiological maturity
According to legislative documents, including the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the age of 18 years is considered physiological maturity in our country. It is due to the full maturation of the reproductive system in young men and the establishment of a regular ovulatory menstrual cycle in girls. Also, by these years, domestic doctors note the full development of the human nervous and musculoskeletal system. But these are average indicators, because any organism is formed individually and at the genetic level, among representatives of different peoples of Russia, puberty can occur somewhat earlier or later than the indicated age. However, even abortions for girls under 18 years of age, medical institutions have the right to carry out one single indicator - "physiological immaturity." It is this factor that is important for the onset of sexual activity. Pediatric gynecologists from the Baltic Institute of Human Reproduction, St. Petersburg, believe that physiological immaturity is the main reason that early sexual contact negatively affects the girl's further somatic health. The ongoing hormonal changes in the young female body seriously affect the susceptibility of the vaginal mucosa to bacterial effects. And until the girl has developed a normal biocenosis (vagina), she will be more susceptible to any sexually transmitted infections. Moreover, at this moment they will have the most serious consequences for her further reproductive system and women's health in general. Sexual contact at the age of 13-15 is fraught with a high probability of getting microtraumas of immature vaginal walls. This, in turn, very often leads to cervical erosion. And if sexual relations took place with a young man infected, for example, with the banal human papillomavirus, that is, he had warts on his hands, then most likely the girl will develop papillomavirus with obvious signs on the genitals. But for an immature female body, even such a disease increases the risk of developing not only erosion, but also other benign and even malignant tumor-like formations. However, boys and girls entering into their first sexual intercourse, most often do not know anything about sexually transmitted infections, and even more so, are not interested in each other's health. Meanwhile, to get gonorrhea, syphilis or HIV infection, one sexual contact is enough. The “decent” appearance of a young man does not in any way deny that he has warts on his hands, and even a beautiful young man from a good family may have a dubious one-time experience, the negative consequences of which he may not suspect for several months. But his sluggish venereal disease for a physiologically immature girl will definitely have consequences, and sometimes even irreversible, unlike a young man, whose body is easier to treat.
Why is it dangerous to start having sex late?
Men emotionally endure the absence of a sexual life and its late start - between 25 and 29 years old, can affect their psychological behavior. This is exactly what post-graduate sexologists of the Department of Sexopathology of the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry think. Young men who have not had sexual relations are most acutely susceptible to aggression and rash acts. They are more likely than their other, especially married peers, get involved in a dubious kind of adventure. The same representatives of the stronger sex who have a calm or shy character, and it is on this basis that they do not have sexual contacts, may be subjected to psycho-emotional internal pressure hidden from prying eyes, which can develop into acute psychosis, hysteria, or even into some kind of manic psychiatric problem. . But all this is strictly individual and depends solely on the psychotype of the individual. But physiologically, abstinence from sex does not affect the male body, unlike the female one. Girls who do not have sexual intercourse before the age of 24-28 are also emotionally difficult to endure such conditions, especially during the days of the ovulatory period. They often experience depression, which is also capable of disintegrating into hysteria. But physically, they begin to develop various pathologies. Residents from the Moscow Regional Research Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology say that it is a big misconception that virginity saves a woman from genital infections. Oddly enough, but in girls who have never had sexual intercourse, during a gynecological examination, doctors often diagnose polyps of the cervical canal, condylomatosis or ectopia of the cervix, chronic endocervicosis. All these problems are also associated with the natural biocenosis of the vagina, which, without participating in sexual activity, inhibits the formation of general immunity, and therefore the female body is easily exposed to various diseases. Therefore, in order to maintain good somatic and psychological health of an individual of any gender, the beginning of his sexual life, according to all medical indicators, should be averaged, should begin no earlier than 18 and no later than 22 years, only then it is possible to avoid all the above problems.
“In Greenland, for example, 71% of 15-year-old girls are already sexually active, in Armenia and Macedonia - 2%. In Belarus, the indicator is the same as the European average: the average age at which girls begin to have sex is 15.5-16 years, boys - six months earlier.”
Lana Zhukovskaya
obstetrician-gynecologist at the IVF Center for Reproductive Medicine
Postgraduate student of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Belarusian State Medical University
Physiological maturity, according to the Ministry of Health and all legislative documents, is considered to be the age of 18 years. It is due to the full maturation of the reproductive system (the establishment of a regular ovulatory menstrual cycle), the normalization of the functioning of the endocrine system, the full development of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. Naturally, this is an average figure, because everyone is individual. However, even abortions for girls under 18 can be done according to one single indicator - “physiological immaturity”.
There is also such a nuance: hormonal changes in the body affect the susceptibility of the mucosa to infections. And until the girl has developed a normal vaginal biocenosis, she will be more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections.
However, that's not all
The fact is that physiologically a girl can be ready for sexual activity even at the age of 16-17, already at that age some can physically bear a child and give birth, but, as a rule, at this time a person cannot yet clearly assess what he needs from life, and prioritize.
Many sexual relationships in adolescence begin due to the fact that there is pressure from society. Some girls are just afraid to be the "black sheep". To this is added quite aggressive advertising of sexuality by the media, in which there is a lot of emphasis on gender: sometimes even in advertising for household appliances, women are depicted in a sexually provocative way. And, of course, adolescents are influenced by free access to any information, including erotic ones.
Substitution of concepts
Due to psychological immaturity, adolescents may experience a substitution of concepts: after all, sex for the sake of love is one question, but if sex is for the sake of keeping a partner, “binding to oneself”, or out of revenge, this is a completely different matter. And such early intercourse can lead to psychological trauma, because the first sexual partner rarely stays for life.
Now girls are very prone to critical self-esteem: it is fashionable to achieve ideals in everything, and if something goes wrong in sexual life, the girl is unlikely to be able to adequately assess it, she will consider that the problem is in her appearance or in herself, in general .
Sex life is not a competition
In boys, physiological maturity occurs a little earlier than in girls. The first wet dreams and the first sensations, similar to sexual arousal, in boys occur, as a rule, by the age of 13-14. However, for boys, the aspect of psychological maturity is much more important than physical.
In men, self-esteem often depends on their sexual exploits. Boys like to exaggerate their adventures, and if a teenager hears an embellished version from a friend, he will begin to worry that his sex life is less intense. Therefore, for boys, well-established adequate self-esteem is so important: they must understand that sex is not a competition in which you need to score more points.
At what age should a girl visit a gynecologist for the first time
Today it is one of the serious problems due to which there is no early diagnosis of many diseases. And first of all, because there are quite a few pediatric gynecologists in Belarus.
Desirable so that the girl visits the gynecologist for the first time before she goes to first grade. And better in 4-5 years. During the examination, the doctor will be able to assess the correct development of the external genitalia, to palpate the abdomen. At this age, although infrequently, tumor-like formations in the vagina and pelvic cavity, various hormonal and genetic disorders, mutations associated with sex determination - Shereshevsky-Turner syndrome, when a girl lacks one of the X chromosomes, can already be detected , and in the future she will have serious problems with fertility. Many diseases can be missed if the child is not examined at an early age and timely treatment is not started.
As for the psychological preparation of the child for an examination by a gynecologist, if the mother herself behaves calmly and correctly sets up her daughter to visit the doctor, then the girl will normally perceive the examination.
Necessarily you need to visit a gynecologist after the first menstruation in order to determine that everything is starting as it should. On average, menarche occurs at 12-14 years of age. If the first menstruation begins too early or too late, this is also a reason to consult a gynecologist.
If the monthly scanty, irregular, with long intervals - you need to go to the doctor, not expecting that something will work out. By the way, many myths are connected with this: “if you start to live a sexual life, the cycle will improve, if you give birth, the cycle will improve.” With such problems, you can not get pregnant in the future. Timely diagnosis and prevention are important here. And if the girl is menstruating, it is advisable to undergo an examination by a gynecologist annually.
It should also be said about children's bleeding. Sometimes a girl begins menstruation, but is not yet established normally and passes according to the type of bleeding: either heavy (blood loss more than 150 ml per day; more than 5 pads are needed), or very long (8-14 days or more). Such bleeding is accompanied by a decrease in hemoglobin and a rather serious deterioration in the general condition.
It is important to understand that any deviation during a child's menstruation is not a reason to wait until everything gets better, this is a reason to immediately go to the gynecologist.
Is it true that by delaying the onset of sexual activity, a girl increases the risk of developing diseases, including cancer?
In general, there are several aspects to how the absence of sexual life affects women's health. As for the late onset of sexual activity, the most common and justified fear is physical: with age, tissues become less extensible, so the moment of loss of virginity can be more difficult, up to bleeding. And sometimes women seek surgical defloration in order to avoid injuries and ruptures.
The second aspect is psychological, i.e. What is the reason for the abstinence? If, for example, these are religious or moral motives, then the person in this case is psychologically disposed and treats sexual abstinence adequately; if it is caused by the inability to find a sexual partner and is accompanied by low self-esteem and depression, then cortisol levels can increase in the body due to chronic stress, which will disrupt the normal functioning of the endocrine system.
Also, women who have never become pregnant and have not given birth are at risk for developing cancer. For example, nuns are considered vulnerable to endometrial cancer and breast cancer precisely because of the long absence of sexual activity.
Just statistics
In Belarus, approximately 400 girls (under the age of 17) have abortions per year. At the same time, in 2014, 972 underage girls became mothers, in 2013 - 1084. I think that in 2015 the figure will be about the same. According to statistics, 2/3 of pregnant minors still decide to have a baby. But we must understand that at an early age, both abortion and pregnancy are a big risk to a girl's health.
…when you’re ready to face adult challenges
A teenager must clearly understand why he needs to live a sexual life. Sex life is not only physics, there must be a relationship that you believe in, it must be sex for love, and not for the sake of satisfying your needs or, moreover, curiosity.
Be sure to be responsible for your actions, because it is much easier to commit an act than to be aware of its consequences and be responsible for them. There is a good phrase on this subject: “You need to start adulthood when you are ready to face adult problems.”
In adolescence, girls begin to date young men. These relationships are not always platonic, sometimes it comes to sex. It is good if parents were able to warn children in time about all the possible consequences of such a relationship. But even in this case, sexual intercourse is not always safe, especially for girls.
"Letidor" turned to Natalia Alexandrovna Chekeneva, doctor of the highest category, gynecologist-reproductologist, pediatric gynecologist (work experience 15 years) of the "Leib-Medic" Family Medical Center, to find out at what age it is optimal for a girl to enter into an adult relationship with the opposite sex .
At what age does a girl grow up
For both the girl and her parents, this issue is exciting, but for each in their own way. Mom and dad are afraid that something will go wrong, that it is still early, that the boy is not the same at all, and so on.
The girl worries and thinks, as a rule, not about this, because HE is the only one, THEY are forever! And here it is very important that between the girl and the mother there are those same trusting relationships when you can discuss such a delicate and sensitive issue for everyone.
When is the girl ready for this? It is quite difficult to answer unambiguously. By the age of 17-18, a girl in structure, physiologically, is very close to an adult woman, but her psychological maturation ends at about 24 years old.
At the age of 12-15, when a girl begins her first menstruation, she can already become pregnant.
How sexual intercourse can affect a girl's health
We must be fully aware that this is a young, not very mature organism, which is not yet quite ready to bear a child and give birth.
At this age, there are many complex changes in the body of a woman, including psychological ones. However, this is not the only reason why you should not rush into sexual activity. We must keep the girl's body healthy as long as possible.
With the onset of sexual activity, she can get specific and non-specific infections, injuries, the consequences of which may appear in the future.
After all, unfortunately, not every first sexual intercourse brings something pleasant to the girl. Far from always, this moment justifies the expectations and ideas that had previously formed in the head of a teenager. And on what baggage in the form of chronic inflammatory diseases of the external and internal genital organs, psychological trauma she will have by the time of her real desire to give birth to a child, the speed of the onset of this desired pregnancy and the well-being of its course will depend.
Every obstetrician-gynecologist, child and adult, is always pleased with the appeal of a girl / girl in order to find out if she should start having sex now, as well as how and when to do it right in order to avoid negative consequences in the future.
This is a difficult but important topic of conversation. And if the girl herself does not take care of the health of her body, it is unlikely that someone else will do it! After all, we would like every girl, girl, woman to have a healthy and harmonious personal life!
P.S. No doctor will tell a teenage girl that you can start having sex at the age of 14-16, because there are always individual characteristics that relate not only to physiology, but also to psychology. A girl at this age herself or after talking with her parents, with her mother, can decide for herself that she is ready. But it will be only her own decision.
In addition, in each country there is such a thing as the "age of consent", that is, when a teenager aged 16-18 years has sexual relations with a person who has reached the same age or older. But these are already criminal relations that are considered by the court.
As for psychological readiness, a girl, according to her physiological development, can enter into relationships at adolescence, but whether she needs this, whether she is ready for this, no one will decide unambiguously, except for herself. She must feel not only desire, but also responsibility, realize that next to her is the person with whom she is ready to share her first intimacy. But to tell about the methods of protection is the task of parents. Unfortunately, sexual relations are the prerogative of its participants, and how parents will show themselves in this case is a question only for the parents themselves.
Even if it happens at the age of 14-15 years.