Working Mothers Too Tired for Sex

Women often subjected to too much stress

Juggling work and family takes its toll on women in the bedroom. An Australian study confirms that many working mothers are either too tired or too disinterested to have sex or physical contact with their partners.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide really hadn't planned to ask salacious questions about women's sex lives; they merely sought to uncover how work affected the lives of more than 150 women. The topic of sex kept popping up, however. The scientists report that the hidden cost of work could often be measured in a loss of intimacy, and diminished personal relationships.

The Melbourne paper The Age reprints a story from the Sydney Morning Herald explaining that stay-at-home moms suffer a decline in libido, too, but not as great as mothers who work outside the home.

Boston-area psychotherapist Alice D. Domar says that women can do more to ease daily stresses by nurturing themselves. Domar, who leads stress-management programs at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and Harvard Medical School, says women face more stress than men in the United States.

The Seattle Times reprints a feature from the Chicago Tribune describing four ways that women subject themselves to too much stress.

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