Sex

Indian ministry denies advising pregnant women to avoid sex

The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, or AYUSH, released a statement to clarify the controversial advice it issued to pregnant women last week.

A booklet titled "Mother and Child Care" was put together by India's Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, a body that falls under AYUSH. It offered a range of advice that included avoiding foods such as tea, coffee, oily foods and white flour, as well as avoiding non-vegetables -- meaning meat.

Want more affection? Have more sex

That's the takeaway of a series of four studies of committed couples in both the United States and Switzerland.

'Stealthing' - what you need to know

It may not be a word you've heard before but there's a lot of discussion about it right now on social media.

It's being talked about because of a US report which found cases are on the rise.

Victims' charities say it must be treated as rape - and that it's a hugely under-reported problem.

The study by Alexandra Brodsky in Columbia Journal of Gender and Law says it is a growing issue.

When too much sex is a sign of mental illness

When Rachel was 18 she noticed her sex drive took a jump.

"It was literally all I could think about and if I wasn't having it then I would be doing something related to it, or watching it online," she told Hack.

"As I got a little bit older, it started getting to pretty much every day of the week and maybe two to three partners a week."

It wasn't long before it started taking a toll on her relationships and she decided she should look somewhere for help.

Who orgasms most and least, and why

But why does this gender gap exist, and what can be done to achieve orgasm equality? After all, about 40% of women experience sexual dysfunction, associated with a chronic difficulty in achieving orgasm.

Experts are offering some answers.

Asthma sufferers 'struggling with their sex lives'

Over two-thirds (68%) of people with asthma who responded to a survey by the charity said their sex lives have been directly affected by their condition.

Callie-Anne, 31, said her sex life with her husband was put "on hold" because of her severe asthma.

The charity said it may be a sign that people do not have the disease under control and they should seek advice.

Callie-Anne said she was not surprised at the results of the survey as "people are suffering in silence".

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Read this if you're anxious about sex - and fear it will hurt

"It's a time of significant adjustment in your life," says Eddie Morris from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

"That can be a cause of increase anxiety and worry," he tells Newsbeat.

This is his advice for 16 to 24-year-olds who are having sex for the first time - and worrying about it.

Talk it through

Painful sex can happen if couples have different sexual expectations, likes and dislikes.

Eddie Morris says being emotionally close to your partner is important - because you can talk things through.

Sex, honour, shame and blackmail in an online world

Daniel Silas Adamson looks at how smartphones and social media are colliding head-on with traditional notions of honour and shame.

In 2009 an 18-year-old Egyptian girl, Ghadeer Ahmed, sent a video clip to her boyfriend's phone. The clip showed Ghadeer dancing at the house of a female friend. There was nothing pornographic about it, but she was wearing a revealing dress and dancing without any inhibition.

Great sex linked to heart disease for older men but not women

This is according to a study released this week in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Especially if you enjoy it.

"Older men who found sex with their partner extremely pleasurable, or satisfying, had higher risk of cardiovascular events than men who did not feel so," said study author Hui Liu, associate professor of sociology at Michigan State University.