A new online survey asked 500 women aged 35 to 49 about their interest in sex, and whaddaya know, 76% of women are “interested in maintaining a healthy sex life” and about 50% declare they “initiate sex with their partner.”

 Among respondants, 35% say sex improves with age and experience, and half of the women surveyed said that they have sex once a week or more.

 It’s not entirely surprising that this study is getting press.  The ‘middle aged’ woman who’s the CEO of a fragmented and unpredictable corporation called her family may be perceived as too busy, exhausted, or just generally distracted to be interested in intimacy.

There’s no arguing: the business of feeding, clothing and educating her children while cooking, cleaning and holding down a job is unimaginable sometimes.  But we also know from the women who come to the Center that a robust sex life can be an antidote to all that work; it can help let a little air out of the balloon of our full life and, like a sigh, allow us to enjoy ourselves, and the partners we love.

 In fact, the longer we are with our partners, the more comfortable we may feel, and the more we may be ok with asking for some sexual attention when we need it.

 Of course, we see many women who are not part of the 50% that have sex once a week, and who do not initiate sex, either because they don’t feel the desire, or because it hurts to have sex.  Well, that’s our work.  Data like this is an inspiration, even if it’s not a surprise.

 The survey was sponsored by Teva Women’s Health, the manufacturer of the ParaGard Intrauterine Copper Contraceptive.