Hello, my name is Monica and I've been in a relationship for quite some time now. Last night, my boyfriend and I decided that we were ready to make love together. We used protection (a condom), but I'm still very afraid because this morning I woke up with weird feelings in my stomach. They don't feel like cramps but they are bothersome and it feels as though I have something in my stomach...I don't know how to describe these weird feelings, but last time I had sex, I used protection and experienced these same feelings and I was not pregnant. But I'm still afraid and I feel as though I need to ask if it is normal to ever experience these weird feelings. I asked two of my friends, and they also said they experienced these weird feelings as well. I was just wondering if I should be scared about anything? I have been really upset this whole day because I need to know what is going on. Please help me as soon as possible. Thank you for your time.
Hey, Monica!
You know, weird feelings after sexual activities of all sorts are something that is reported pretty frequently by folks. There could be a couple of reasons for this. First of all, when we’re sexually active, we tend to become more aware of our bodies than we were before. Normal gas or other regular bodily quirks that we wouldn’t make much note of during regular instances are suddenly brought to our attention. Another factor that could play a part here is that when we are sexually active, all of those bits and organs involved in arousal and sex are getting extra blood flow, so it’s not unusual to feel some different sensations than you have when not aroused. Especially if you’re not reaching orgasm during any part of sex, you might also be experiencing some vasocongestion (often referred to as “blue balls”), which can occur no matter what genitals you have. And, besides that, you’ve got all sorts of hormones coursing around that are related to the sex you’re having. Also, sex (of any sort) can be a pretty emotional experience. Our emotions (positive or negative) can have physical manifestations that may make us feel some actual bodily reactions sometimes.
If you used a condom for all genital contact and it did not break, slip, or otherwise fail (which would be obvious if it happened since condom failures tend to be quite catastrophic), you really don’t have a pregnancy risk here. (Besides that, even if you HAD had a pregnancy risk, you would not have any physical indications of pregnancy yet because you wouldn’t even BE pregnant yet! Conception is not instant, it takes several DAYS!) The weird feelings are more likely related to what you are feeling physically and emotionally and what you are now paying attention to. As long as you are taking appropriate steps to protect yourself, you are only having sex that you truly want to have, and you are not having any pain, there’s no reason to worry.
You may want to check out the following pages:
Ready or Not? The Scarleteen Sex Readiness Checklist
Safe, Sound & Sexy: A Safer Sex How-To
Safer Sex…for Your Heart
What’s the Risk? Easy Pregnancy Risk Assessments
