Health

The clitoris is important for making babies and not just for pleasure, British scientist claims


The clitoris is NOT just for pleasure: Stimulating the sex organ ‘triggers changes in the body which make it easier for sperm to get to the egg’

  • Stimulating it ‘triggers changes which makes conditions optimal for conceiving’
  • Increases blood flow and changes position of cervix, according to British expert 
  • Review, published in Clinical Anatomy, flies in face of wealth of previous studies

It was thought to be the only human organ designed purely for pleasure. 

But the clitoris may actually play an important role in reproducing, according to a leading scientist. 

Stimulating the sexual organ triggers changes which makes conditions inside the body optimal for conceiving, it has been claimed. 

These are said to include increased vaginal blood flow and lubrication, which make sex more enjoyable and help sperm travel towards the egg. 

Stimulating the clitoris may actually play an important role in reproducing, contrary to popular belief (file image)

Stimulating the clitoris may actually play an important role in reproducing, contrary to popular belief (file image)

It may also cause an increase in oxygen and temperature in the female reproductive system, keeping semen healthy on their journey.

But most importantly, stimulating the clitoris prompts a change in the position of the cervix, the opening to the womb where sperm is deposited, according to the review. 

The cervix is a small canal that sits at the top of the vagina. During sexual arousal, the vagina will elongate, which pulls the cervix up and out of the way. 

The change prevents sperm from traveling into the uterus too rapidly, according to Dr Roy Levin, an expert in female arousal at Sheffield University.

WHAT IS THE CLITORIS, AND WHAT DOES IT DO? 

Tucked just inside the entrance to the vagina is the clitoris – the female equivalent of the penis. 

It was thought to be the only human organ designed purely for pleasure.

Like the penis, the clitoris is a mass of nerves, muscles and blood vessels. 

When aroused, the clitoris fills with blood and becomes erect. 

During stimulation, the tip pulls back from the hood and emerges from its foreskin. Stimulating the clitoris results in orgasm. 

A woman’s orgasm is characterised by rhythmic muscular contractions followed immediately by relaxation. 

The initial contractions can arrive at less than one second intervals, and become further apart as the orgasm continues. 

A mild orgasm can contain three to five contractions, while an intense orgasm could have ten to fifteen.

This gives sperm time to become mobile and activated to fertilise the egg, the doctor wrote in the review of evidence published in the journal Clinical Anatomy.

After semen is deposited, the activation of their tail is suppressed until they are within a relatively short distance of the egg. 

This gives the sperm an increased chance of reaching the egg before exhausting its energy supplies.

Dr Levin said: ‘The often repeated mantra, that the sole function of clitoris is to induce sexual pleasure, is now obsolete.

‘The concept changes a major sexual belief, and the physiological evidence is now obvious.’

His review, which looked at 15 studies from 1966 to 2017, flies in the face of a wealth of research which concluded the clitoris’ function was purely for pleasure. 

The organ is a mass of nerves, muscles and blood vessels which fills with blood and becomes erect when aroused. 

During stimulation, the tip pulls back from the hood and the clitoris becomes enlarged and firm. 

It was previously thought that it had an indirect function in reproduction because it encourages sex with the promise of pleasure.  

Dr Levin also used his review to blast female genital mutilation – a barbaric practice in which the clitoris is removed to discourage having sex.

He said it makes it much more difficult for women to conceive, on top of the excruciating pain and long-term mental health effects which come with it. 

The procedure is typically done with a blade or a razor and sometimes without anaesthesia.  



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