75% Of Married Women Say Sex Is "Very Important"

49% Say They Had Better Sex Before Having Children

Just because you're shackled to a ball and chain doesn't mean you can't get freaky every now and then. So says a new nationwide survey of married women, 75% of whom say sex is "very important."

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Commissioned by the online women's community iVillage, the survey looked at the sex lives and habits of 1,001 married women between the ages of 18 and 49 across the United States, and the results show that sex is still very much on the female mind after tying the knot.

"This research sets the record straight: married women definitely value good sex in their relationships," said Liz Zack, an editorial director at iVillage.

"It's the ultimate 'am I normal' study. We don't know whether the stuff that happens between the sheets at my house is the same stuff happening in the bedrooms of America."

For many women, however, stress puts a big damper on their desire for sex. 50% of the respondents blamed it for reducing their sex-drive. Exhaustion was named by 49%, children by 39%, and 14% of women said it was due to a loss of physical attraction.

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Here are some other surprising results from the survey:

- 12% say they have had sex with someone other than their spouse during their marriage.

- 49% say they have purchased lingerie to help spice up their sex life. 31% have watched porn, 11% have gone to a strip club, and 8% have tried a threesome.

- 49% say they had better sex before they had kids. 34% say the kids didn't change their sex lives.

- 33% said there is nothing they would rather do more than have sex with their husband.

- 67% said that a husband's sharing of loving feelings turns them on more getting gifts or seeing them naked.

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