‘I value a good night’s sleep more’ 30S

Emily Silva, 29, who works in a call centre, lives with her partner, Jamie, and their one-year-old son Brady in Cardiff. She says, “I’m not surprised by the survey results. A lot of women my age are so busy juggling careers and children that being intimate with our partner takes a backseat. My sex life is far from satisfactory. Jamie and I do it once a fortnight, but he instigates it. I love him, but there’s zero romance involved – it’s almost as though we’re ticking the ‘sex box’ on our list of things to do.

“We’ve been together for six years, and before having Brady last year, our love life was great. But since he arrived I’ve gained weight and my confidence has plummeted, with the result that I enjoy sex a lot less. Facebook and Instagram don’t help, either. I pore over pictures of mums whose bodies have snapped back into shape and compare myself to celebs like Jennifer Lopez, then feel even worse. There’s a huge pressure on women to be goddesses.

“Jamie and I are also guilty of getting home in the evening and looking at our screens. We’re together, but we’re catching up with emails and checking out what friends are doing. Our phones and ipads sit on our bedside tables, and if we can’t sleep, rather than have a cuddle, I’ll pick up my tablet instead. It takes away the intimacy between us. To be honest, I value a good night’s sleep more. Juggling the demands of full-time work and a family means it’s easy to push sex to the bottom of the list.”