The term “dyspareunia” means painful intercourse. A woman may feel pain at the start of penetration, with trusting, or when there is deep penetration.  Pain may happen only with specific partners or in certain positions, or with all partners and all positions.

There are many reasons a woman may experience pain during intercourse. Here are the most common ones:

• poor lubrication
• medical conditions (such as pelvic infections, fibroids, endometriosis, adenomyosis, ovarian cysts or pelvic inflammatory disease)
• allergies
• birth control devices that don’t fit correctly
• relationship/emotional problems
• genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM)/vulvovaginal atrophy
• vaginismus

Many of these issues can be treated easily under your health care professional’s care.