Women's Health - The Female Orgasm

Orgasm Anatomy and How to Achieve Them During Intercourse

Oct 24, 2009

Understanding the process the body goes through to reach orgasm can help women achieve them more often during intercourse.

Sex alone produces blissful feelings, but nothing feels better than achieving orgasm. For many women, orgasms only occur from time to time during intercourse, while others do not have them at all outside of masturbation. Understanding how to reach orgasm and the process the body undergoes can help women reach this pleasurable state more often.

Importance of Foreplay

Foreplay prepares the body for sexual intercourse. For women, foreplay increases blood flow to the vagina and clitoris which helps produce natural lubrication from the vaginal walls. Dr. Ian Kerner, a certified sex therapist and author of She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman, says that to achieve orgasm "many women need a transition period between dealing with the stress of everyday life and feeling sexual. A few minutes of foreplay isn't enough." Relaxing the mind and increasing feelings of sexuality during foreplay will make the process of an orgasm possible.

Women Need to Stop Thinking

Another problem, besides not getting enough foreplay, is that women tend to think too much during intercourse. Orgasm will quickly become a difficult feat if a woman is too concerned with her physical appearance and performance during sex. Also, concentrating the mind on other things, such as chores that need to be done, will hinder a woman from reaching the orgasm goal. Women need to stop thinking and focus on how great intercourse feels with their partner.

When a Woman Gets Turned On

As a woman becomes aroused, "blood continues to flood the pelvic area, breathing speeds up, heart rate increases, nipples become erect, and the lower part of the vagina narrows in order to grip the penis while the upper part expands to give it someplace to go," says Women's Health Magazine writer, Nicole Beland. Nerve and muscle tension builds in the thighs, buttocks, pelvis, and genitals, until it is finally released involuntarily at the point of orgasm.

Conquering the Orgasm

Beland found in her research that an orgasm "is the moment when the uterus, vagina, and anus contract simultaneously at 0.8-second intervals. "Small orgasms consist of three to five contractions while larger, longer-lasting orgasms contain 10 to 15 contractions. Other parts of the body might experience involuntary contractions as well, thus the reason for toes clenching.

It may take the average woman 27 minutes to reach orgasm, but the wait is definitely worth it. A state of "satisfied relaxation" usually follows an orgasm; however, Dr. Kerner states that "many women complain that a single orgasm isn't enough to relieve the buildup of sexual tension."

Orgasm Recap

Concerning orgasms, there are a few key things a woman should remember. First, women should ask their partner for longer sessions of foreplay in order to prime their body for orgasm. Next, women need to stop thinking and stressing over things during intercourse. Relaxing the body and mind will help ensure that the female reaches orgasm. If vaginal intercourse still does not do the trick, oral sex is another avenue proven successful in getting women to achieve orgasm.

Ian Kerner, Ph.D. , She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman. HarperCollins Publishing, New York 2004.

Women's Health Magazine article "Anatomy of an Orgasm" by Nicole Beland. September / October Issue 2005.

The copyright of the article Women's Health - The Female Orgasm in Women's Sexual Health is owned by Terah Talley. Permission to republish Women's Health - The Female Orgasm in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.