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• Summary
• Start Here

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues
• Specifics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Older Adults
• Patient Handouts

Summary

There are many problems that can keep a woman from enjoying sex. They include:

• Lack of sexual desire
• Inability to become aroused
• Lack of orgasm, or sexual climax
• Painful intercourse

These problems may have physical or psychological causes. Physical causes may include conditions like diabetes, heart disease, nerve disorders, or hormone problems. Some drugs can also affect desire and function. Psychological causes may include work-related stress and anxiety. They may also include depression or concerns about marriage or relationship problems. For some women, the problem results from past sexual trauma.

Occasional problems with sexual function are common. If problems last more than a few months or cause distress for you or your partner, you should see your health care provider.

Start Here

• Female Sexual Dysfunction (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Your Sexual Health (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

Living With

• Self-Help Tips (for Vulvar Pain) (National Vulvodynia Association)

Related Issues

• Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
• Managing Sexual Side Effects as a Woman with Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Vaginal Atrophy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Viagra for Women: Why Doesn't It Exist? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Women's Sexual Health: Talking about Your Sexual Needs (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Anorgasmia in Women (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Chronic Pelvic Pain (in Women) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Dyspareunia: Painful Sex for Women (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Low Sex Drive in Women (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Orgasmic Disorder in Women (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Painful Intercourse (Dyspareunia) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Pelvic Pain (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Dyspareunia (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Female Sexual Dysfunction (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Vaginismus (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Sexual function, depression, and quality of life in patients with irritable...
• Article: Examining the effect of a sexual self-efficacy based educational intervention on...
• Article: Sexual Dysfunction and Sexual Distress Among Patients With Lymphoma: A Cross-Sectional...
• Sexual Problems in Women -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Female Reproductive System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health Also in Spanish
• How to Find Find an Ob-Gyn (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

Older Adults

• Sexual Health (AGS Health in Aging Foundation)

Patient Handouts

• Cancer treatment: fertility and sexual side effects in women (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Orgasmic dysfunction in women (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vaginal dryness (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Vaginismus (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Women and sexual problems (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish