Sexual Health and Libido

“Sexual desire or sex drive is your level of interest
in sexual activity. It’s normal for your sexual desire
to go up and down at different times and for…”.1

Umbrella

What may the Sexual Health and Libido Umbrella include?

Depending on the Source (DotS) this Umbrella may include:

  • Decreased Libido
  • Decreased Sex/Sexual Desire/Drive/Interest
  • Female Sexual Arousal Disorder (FSAD)
  • Female Sexual Interest-Arousal Disorder (FSIAD) [HSDD + Female Sexual Arousal Disorders]
  • Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder/Dysfunction (HSDD)
  • Lack of Sexual Desire/Drive/Interest
  • Libido
  • Low Libido
  • Low Sex/Sexual Desire/Drive/Interest
  • Sex/Sexual Desire/Drive/Interest
  • Sexual Interest-Arousal Disorder

Addyi

What is Addyi® “the first and only FDA-approved pill clinically proven to treat frustrating low sexual desire in women, is now approved for use in women who have gone through menopause”?2

In Historic First In Women’s Sexual Health: FDA Grants Approval for Addyi® (flibanserin) In Postmenopausal Women, dated 15 December 2025, Sprout Pharmaceuticals elaborate on:

“Sprout Pharmaceuticals today announced a monumental milestone for women’s health: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Addyi® (flibanserin 100 mg) for the treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) in women <65 years. This long-awaited decision closes a gap in care for millions of postmenopausal women experiencing frustrating low sexual desire and marks a historic first approval for the FDA”.3

Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD)

What is Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD)?

DotS the definition of HSDD may vary. In Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) the American Sexual Health Association’s definition is:

Sexual Health and Libido“Sometimes you want sex, sometimes you don’t. That’s normal. Everyone has their own level of what is considered “normal” based on their own experiences and biological drive. But when a woman has a low libido or low sexual desire and is bothered by this lack of interest in sex, she may have a condition called hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD).

HSDD is defined as the absence of sexual fantasies and thoughts, and/or desire for or receptivity to, sexual activity that causes the personal distress or difficulties in her relationship. This distress is an important component. After all, some women with what is considered a low libido may not have any distress or problems with a partner as a result”.4

Libido

What is libido?

DotS the definition of libido may vary. In What Can Affect Your Sex Life? Sexual Desire (Libido) the (Australian) Jean Hailes for Women’s Health’s (JH) definition is:

“Sexual desire or sex drive is your level of interest in sexual activity. It’s normal for your sexual desire to go up and down at different times and for different reasons”.5

Cause

What may cause low libido in women?

In Low Sex Drive In Women: Symptoms & Causes – Causes the (United States) Mayo Clinic explain:

“Desire for sex is based on a complex mix of many things that affect intimacy. These factors include:

  • Physical and emotional well-being
  • Experiences
  • Beliefs
  • Lifestyle
  • Your current relationship

If you have challenges in any of these areas, it can affect your desire for sex”.6

In Sexual Difficulties In the Menopause the Australasian Menopause Society (AMS) explain:

“Hormones are rarely the only factor involved in desire-arousal problems and other factors need to be identified and addressed. These might include relationship issues, psychological factors, side effects of common medications, such as antidepressants, or health issues such as diabetes. Women often say that the physical changes that occur with ageing and/or menopause make them feel more self-conscious about their body, particularly in relation to sex. Other changes in a woman’s life, such as a partner’s midlife issues (including erectile dysfunction), teenagers in the house or leaving home, and parents dying or requiring care will affect sexual function”.7

Common or Not

How common is low libido?

The AMS note:

“Low libido is the most common sexual concern reported by women and is often inseparable from diminished capacity to become aroused”.8

Fluctuations

Can libido fluctuate?

In Low Sex Drive In Women: Symptoms & Causes – Overview the Mayo Clinic elaborate on:

“Women’s levels of sexual desire change over the years. It’s common for highs and lows to happen along with the start or end of a relationship. Or they can happen with major life changes such as pregnancy, menopause or illness. Some medicines used for conditions that affect mood also can cause low sex drive in women”.9

Menopause

Is there an association between menopause and libido?

In Low Sex Drive In Women: Symptoms & Causes – Causes: Hormone Changes the Mayo Clinic explain:

Libido“Changes in your hormone levels may alter your desire for sex. This can occur during:

  • Menopause. Estrogen levels drop during menopause. This can make you less interested in sex and cause vaginal dryness, leading to painful or uncomfortable sex. Many women still have satisfying sex during menopause and beyond. But some have a lagging libido during this hormone change”.10

Treatment

How may low libido be treated?

In Low Sex Drive In Women: Diagnosis & Treatment – Treatment the Mayo Clinic elaborate on:

“Most women benefit from a treatment approach aimed at the many causes behind this condition. Recommendations may include sex education, counseling, and sometimes medicine and hormone therapy”.11

The JH explain:

“If you are worried about your sex drive, see your doctor. They will check if any physical conditions or medicines might be causing the problem. They may also refer you to a counsellor, psychologist, sexologist or relationship therapist”.12

Testosterone

Is testosterone used to treat low libido?

DotS the answer to this question may vary. Some clinicians may prescribe testosterone to treat low libido and/or some menopause symptoms. Other clinicians may only prescribe testosterone for the treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD).

It can therefore be in your best interest to check the Source and date of the testosterone information you are looking at.

According to the BMS Statement on Testosterone, dated 26 July 2024:

“Whilst some women do benefit from the addition of testosterone, this is not the case for all women and in the interest of patient safety, it is important that women are advised within readily available clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), British Menopause Society (BMS) and the International Menopause Society (IMS). These were developed to support patient safety, not to prevent women from accessing treatment.

The only current evidence-based factual indication for the addition of testosterone to standard HRT, is for persistent low libido in postmenopausal women, after all other contributory factors have been addressed. There is no evidence to support claims that testosterone will help with other symptoms associated with menopause or prevent bone loss or dementia.

Ongoing research may provide evidence for other indications for use of testosterone by women, and we all agree that more research is needed”.13

Your Country may have recent information similar to that by Professor Susan Davis who is internationally renowned for her evidence-based research about Testosterone and Menopause.

Health Care Provider

What if I have low libido?

If you have low libido, it may be in your best interest to choose to talk to your health care provider about this.

In Low Sex Drive In Women: Diagnosis & Treatment – Diagnosis the Mayo Clinic explain:

“If low sex desire concerns you, talk with your gynecologist or another member of your healthcare team. For some women, low sex drive is part of an ongoing condition called sexual interest-arousal disorder. It involves having at least three of the following symptoms, which cause sadness or anxiety:

  • No desire to have any type of sexual activity or to masturbate
  • Few or no sexual thoughts or fantasies
  • Not wanting to make the first move in a sexual encounter with a partner
  • Less or no pleasure during sexual activity
  • Less or no interest in any sexual or erotic cues from a partner
  • Few or no physical sensations during sexual activity in most sexual encounters

You don’t have to fit this definition to reach out for help. Your healthcare professional can look for reasons that your sex drive isn’t as high as you’d like”.14

Health Topics A-Z

Where may I find Health Topics A-Z related to Sexual Health and Libido?

In Health Topics A-Z you may find:

Health Topics A-Z

Links

Where may I find Links related to Sexual Health and Libido?

Your Country may have Links similar to:

Links

This Links List to third party websites is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive. Inclusion on this Links List does not imply endorsement or recommendation. Non-inclusion on this Links List does not imply non-endorsement or non-recommendation. Third party websites are not under the control of Meno Martha International Menopause Directory. Third party websites may contain explicit medical images and/or sexual references. Please read Meno Martha International Menopause Directory’s Links Policy before proceeding to a Link. Please contact Webmaster if you experience a problem with a Link.

New or Updated

  1. 371 – Women’s Sexual Health: Desire, Arousal, and Orgasms, Navigating Perimenopause, and More
  2. A Three-Part Conversation With Dr. Pepper Schwartz on Female Sexual Difficulties
  3. Addressing Midlife Sexuality: From “Couplepause” to “Doublepause”
  4. Are There Things A Woman Can Do To Boost Her Libido Before Going To the Doctor?
  5. Askearlymenopause.org [Ask EM] [+ Video: What Is Early Menopause?]
  6. BMS Statement on Testosterone
  7. Balance Between Excitement, Inhibition Key To Treat Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder
  8. Consumer Video and Podcast Series: 2023 Consumer Videos and Podcasts – Changes In Sexual Health After Cancer
  9. Consumer Video and Podcast Series: 2024 Consumer Videos and Podcasts – Preparing for Your Menopause Health Care Visit
  10. Deciding About Hormone Therapy Use
  11. Don’t Believe the Hype. Menopausal Women Don’t All Need To Check – or Increase – Their Testosterone Levels
  12. Early Menopause: Women’s Experiences
  13. Expert Tips To Boost Your Libido
  14. FAQs: Intimate Partner Violence
  15. FAQs: When Sex Is Painful
  16. FDA Approves Expanded Use of Flibanserin for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder In Women [15 December 2025]
  17. FDA Direct: Removing Black Box Warnings for HRT (Part 1/2) [10 November 2025]
  18. FDA Expert Panel on Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy for Women
  19. Flibanserin Oral Route [United States]
  20. Find A Menopause Practitioner [United States and Other]
  21. Find A Practitioner [Australasian Menopause Society i.e. Australia and New Zealand]
  22. Find Your Nearest BMS Menopause Specialist [British Menopause Society]
  23. Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause
  24. Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause
  25. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
  26. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): Vaginal Oestrogen: About Vaginal Oestrogen
  27. How To Sync Desire With Your Partner | Sally Greenwald, M.D.
  28. How To Talk To Your Doctor About Painful Sex
    Sexual Health and Libido
  29. How Vaginal Hormones Can Transform the Health of Women
  30. Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD)
  31. Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder HSDD—Open the Door to Discussion
  32. International Society for Sexual Medicine: Public
  33. International Society for Sexual Medicine: Sexual Health Topics
  34. International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health
  35. International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health: Find A Provider
  36. Is Testosterone Just for Men? The Science of Women’s Hormones & Health | Susan Davis | EP #379
  37. Is There An Equivalent of Viagra for Women?
  38. Later Years (Around 50 Years and Over): Menopause and Post Menopause Health – Sexual Wellbeing, Intimacy and Menopause [+ Video: Menopause Is the End of Your Sex Life]
  39. Let’s Talk Low Libido
  40. Looking After Yourself Around the Time of Menopause: Managing & Treating Low Libido – Testosterone Therapy [+ Video: Professor Susan Davis]
  41. Low Libido? Ways for Women To Increase Their Sex Drive
  42. Low Sex Drive (Loss of Libido)
  43. Low Sex Drive In Women: Diagnosis & Treatment
  44. Low Sex Drive In Women: Symptoms & Causes
  45. Lubricant Alternatives: What To Use and What To Avoid
  46. Many Older Women Have Active Sex Lives, But Menopause Can Interfere
  47. Menopause
  48. Menopause Map: Downloadable Resources – My Personal Path Print Tools: Questions for Your Health Care Provider
  49. Menopause Ruining Your Sex Life?
  50. Menopause Symptoms: Mayo Clinic Expert Outlines Hormone and Nonhormonal Therapies
  51. Menopause Treatments: What Works, What Doesn’t
  52. Menopause What Are the Symptoms?
  53. Menopause and Sexual Function
  54. Menopause: Identification and Management [NICE Guideline Published: 12 November 2015 Last Updated: 07 November 2024]
    Sexual Health and Libido
  55. Natural Therapies
  56. Navigating Menopause Care Resource Guide
    Sexual Health and Libido
  57. Navigating Menopause Together: How Partners Can Help
  58. Perimenopause and Menopause Symptom Checklist
  59. Prosayla Supported By ISSWSH [International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health]
  60. Relationships
  61. Relationships: Relationships & Libido
  62. Relationships: Relationships & Painful Sex
  63. Sex, Relationships and Menopause | Dr Louise Newson
  64. Sex and Sexual Health
  65. Sex and Menopause: Treatment for Symptoms
  66. Sexual Difficulties In the Menopause: Testosterone
  67. Sexual Functioning In 4,418 Postmenopausal Women Participating In UKCTOCS: A Qualitative Free-Text Analysis [United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening]
  68. Sexual Health
  69. Sexual Health Conditions
  70. Sexuality: Management & Treatment of Sexual Problems
  71. Steps Your Partner Can Take
  72. Symptoms of Low Testosterone In Women (and Reasons Why It Might Be Low)
  73. Testosterone Replacement In Menopause: 2. What Is Its Role In Women?
  74. Testosterone Therapy In Women: Does It Boost Sex Drive?
  75. Testosterone for Women: Benefits, Science & Live Q&A
  76. Testosterone for Women: Why Use Testosterone?
  77. The Menopause Society Statement on Misinformation Surrounding Hormone Therapy
    Sexual Health and Libido
  78. The Vulva & Vagina Explained: Sex Ed #2
  79. They are not bad words! (Campaign Theme Song)
  80. Top Menopause Questions Answered: Hormones, Bones, Sex & Sleep
  81. Treatments for Menopause
  82. Urogenital Problems
  83. Vaginal & Vulval Pain: Know the Different Causes and When To Seek Help
  84. Vaginal Dryness
  85. Vaginal Dryness After Menopause: How To Treat It?
  86. Vaginal Oestrogen Is A Treatment on the Rise, But Is It Safe?
  87. Videos & Podcasts: Videos – Menopause and Hormone Therapy: Current Perspectives and Controversies
  88. “We’re Just Tired”: Influences on Sexual Activity Among Male-Partnered Women In Midlife; A Mixed Method Study
  89. Webinars: The Burn, the Itch, the Pain, the Urge: GSM In Women
  90. What Can Affect Your Sex Life?
  91. What Is Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) In Women? By Dr. Jessica Yih – UC Irvine Urology
  92. What Is Vaginismus and How To Manage It
  93. What Is Vulvodynia?
  94. What Is Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) In Women? What Causes It?
  95. What Is the Difference Between Vagifem and Estring?
  96. What Types of Vaginal Oestrogens Are There?
  97. Which Vaginal Moisturiser Should You Use?
  98. Women’s Sexual Health: Talking About Your Sexual Needs
  99. World Menopause Day 2024: Leaflet for Women – Menopause and Menopause Hormone Therapy [Multiply Languages]
  100. World Sexual Health Day
    Sexual Health and Libido

Sources

Where may I find the Sources quoted?

You may find the Sources quoted at:

Sources

  1. What Can Affect Your Sex Life? Sexual Desire (Libido). Last Updated: 18 December 2024 | Last Reviewed: 12 December 2023. Jean Hailes for Women’s Health https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/sex-sexual-health/what-can-affect-your-sex-life#sexual-desire-libido Accessed: 17 December 2025
  2. Historic First In Women’s Sexual Health: FDA Grants Approval for Addyi® (flibanserin) In Postmenopausal Women. 15 December 2025. Sprout Pharmaceuticals https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/fda-approves-expanded-use-of-flibanserin-for-hypoactive-sexual-desire-disorder-in-women Accessed: 17 December 2025
  3. Historic First In Women’s Sexual Health: FDA Grants Approval for Addyi® (flibanserin) In Postmenopausal Women. 15 December 2025. Sprout Pharmaceuticals https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/fda-approves-expanded-use-of-flibanserin-for-hypoactive-sexual-desire-disorder-in-women Accessed: 17 December 2025
  4. Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD). American Sexual Health Associationhttps://www.ashasexualhealth.org/hypoactive-sexual-desire-disorder/ Accessed: 17 December 2025
  5. What Can Affect Your Sex Life? Sexual Desire (Libido). Last Updated: 18 December 2024 | Last Reviewed: 12 December 2023. Jean Hailes for Women’s Health https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/sex-sexual-health/what-can-affect-your-sex-life#sexual-desire-libido Accessed: 17 December 2025
  6. Low Sex Drive In Women: Symptoms & Causes – Causes. 07 March 2024. Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/low-sex-drive-in-women/symptoms-causes/syc-20374554 Accessed: 17 December 2025
  7. Sexual Difficulties In the Menopause. March 2021. Australasian Menopause Society https://www.menopause.org.au/hp/information-sheets/sexual-difficulties-in-the-menopause Accessed: 17 December 2025
  8. Sexual Difficulties In the Menopause. March 2021. Australasian Menopause Society https://www.menopause.org.au/hp/information-sheets/sexual-difficulties-in-the-menopause Accessed: 17 December 2025
  9. Low Sex Drive In Women: Symptoms & Causes – Overview. 07 March 2024. Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/low-sex-drive-in-women/symptoms-causes/syc-20374554 Accessed: 17 December 2025
  10. Low Sex Drive In Women: Symptoms & Causes – Causes: Hormone Changes. 07 March 2024. Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/low-sex-drive-in-women/symptoms-causes/syc-20374554 Accessed: 17 December 2025
  11. Low Sex Drive In Women: Diagnosis & Treatment – Treatment: Hormone Therapy. 07 March 2024. Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/low-sex-drive-in-women/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374561 Accessed: 17 December 2025
  12. What Can Affect Your Sex Life? What You Can Do. Last Updated: 18 December 2024 | Last Reviewed: 12 December 2023. Jean Hailes for Women’s Health https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/sex-sexual-health/what-can-affect-your-sex-life#sexual-desire-libido Accessed: 17 December 2025
  13. BMS Statement on Testosterone. 26 July 2024. British Menopause Society https://thebms.org.uk/2024/07/bms-statement-on-testosterone-2/ Accessed: 17 December 2025
  14. Low Sex Drive In Women: Diagnosis & Treatment – Diagnosis. 07 March 2024. Mayo Clinic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/low-sex-drive-in-women/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374561 Accessed: 17 December 2025
Topic Last Updated: 17 December 2025 – Topic Last Reviewed: 17 December 2025

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