Dr. Barb DePree Archives - Mothering in the Middle

Sex: It Really is Chemistry

by Dr. Barb Depree

What makes sex feel so good? What ignites passion and sustains attachment? What is it that makes your heart flutter? And how can you keep those feelings alive, especially in the bedroom, after 10—or 40—years?

Turns out passion and attraction—all the stuff of poetry, song, and story—are the product of your most ancient brain—the limbic system—which you have in common with lots of other animals and which regulates a chemical stew of neurotransmitters. Emotions, drives, impulses, and desires originate in the limbic system. This part of the brain is wired for pleasure and passion, and it operates independently of our conscious choice or will. […]

STIs: Up Close and Personal (II of II)

by Dr. Barb Depree, M.D.

In a post last month we established that folks over 50 are reentering the singles scene with seriously outdated information about the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that have become commonplace since their own prom nights.

When it comes to older people and STIs, “don’t ask; don’t tell” is the MO. Doctors don’t think to ask Grandma about her sex life, and Grandma sure ain’t talking. […]

STIs: Up Close and Personal with Viruses (Part I of II)

by Dr. Barb Depree, M.D.

In our little roundup of sexually transmitted infections, maybe you’ve noticed that many of them have no symptoms, and others mimic common illnesses like the flu or a urinary tract infection.

The take-away? There’s no way to know if you’re carrying an STI without getting tested. And there’s no way to prevent reinfection unless your partner gets tested, too. […]

New Study: Docs Don’t Talk About Sex (Part III of III)

by Dr. Barb Depree, M.D.

When was the last time your doctor asked you how your sex life was going?

I thought so.

In a new study, a team from the University of Chicago surveyed over a thousand OB/GYNs about whether they talk with their patients about sex. The results may not surprise you, but they won’t reassure you, either. […]

Talking Sex With Your Healthcare Provider (Part I of III)

by Dr. Barb Depree, M.D.

Dr. Sheryl Kingsberg is a MiddlesexMD advisor and a psychologist specializing in women’s sexual health. She talks to physicians a lot about why it’s important to at least ask about a patient’s sexual health and maybe take her sexual health history. So she’s very familiar with the view from the physician’s side of the desk when it comes to talking about sex with patients. […]

Sex: It’s Good For What Ails You

by Dr. Barb Depree

Who has time for sex any more? That’s a question I hear from women whose plates are full with working, caring for parents, caring for kids, even caring for grandchildren. With all of the demands on our time and energy, why not just let sex fade into the background? Beyond the intimacy sex brings to our relationships, research continues to document how and why regular sex improves both our mental and physical health. These effects are significant enough to feel as good about an active sex life as about taking our daily vitamins. […]

Make Your Own Love Potion

by Dr. Barb Depree

“I just want to want sex again.”

I can’t tell you how many of my patients have expressed — in one way or another — this simple desire for the desire they experienced in their 20s and 30s, when their bodies were flooded with procreative hormones.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could mix up a love potion to send home with them and to share with you here? Some powerful concoction of roots and herbs perhaps, a magic elixir guaranteed to bring it all back? […]

Midlife, Baby. Don’t Forget the S-E-X!

Dr. Barb DePree

(Dear Reader, as you may notice, we now have advertisers on our site! Although I am in some way connected to all these entities, I have found such sympatico with MiddlesexMD.com – a site dedicated to providing women with information and resources for navigating the sometimes treacherous waters of peri- and menopause. This is another “Cyma’s Picks.” With this in mind, I bring you the following post by founder Dr. Barb Depree. We hope to offer more posts like this in the future. For now, read on…)

You may not be able to leap up from a lotus position in a single bound. (Heck, you may not even be able to get into a lotus position.) You may find your back a little cranky when your two-year-old demands to be carried. Most disappointing of all (to your love life, anyway), you may find yourself falling into an exhausted stupor every night at the same time as your kindergartner.

For all the delights of motherhood, it’s a different ballgame at midlife. […]