Vaginal Wind (Queefing) During Sex or Exercise: What Studies Show

It happens during sex, in a yoga pose or on a run: air escapes from the vagina with a sound. Doctors call it vaginal flatus or vaginal wind; most people call it queefing.

How common it is

Study	Women	Had vaginal wind
Iran, women aged 18 to 80	942	About 20%1
Taiwan, pelvic floor clinic	341	35%2
China, 6 weeks after giving birth	377	About 27%3

Women rarely bring it up unprompted, so it’s probably under-reported.²

When it happens

• Sex was the most common trigger in the Iranian study (54%), but exercise was when it bothered women most.¹
• In the Taiwanese clinic, 46% of those affected had it often or always during sex, and 60% found it at least moderately bothersome then.²

Who gets it

• It was more common in younger women and those with lower body weight.¹²
• It often began after a vaginal birth (45%) or came on by itself (34%).¹
• After childbirth, women with constipation had about 2.4 times the odds.³

Does it affect sex?

In the Taiwanese clinic, women with vaginal wind had lower sexual function scores than those without.²

The sign that isn’t wind

Rarely, a connection called a fistula forms between the bowel and vagina. Then actual bowel gas or stool passes through the vagina, often with infections or sore skin.⁴ That needs a doctor. Most fistulas can be repaired.⁴

What may help

1. Try a different position during sex or exercise and note whether it changes.
2. Treat constipation; see constipation remedies.
3. Ask about pelvic floor physical therapy if it began after a birth or comes with leaks; see how childbirth affects the pelvic floor.
4. Tell a partner. It’s common, and naming it can take the awkwardness out.

Try: “Since my second baby I get a lot of vaginal wind during sex and exercise. It’s embarrassing. Is there anything that helps, and should my pelvic floor be checked?”

Down There, Decoded covers raising awkward symptoms in Chapter 3, “Too Embarrassed to Look,” in a section called “What to Say When You’re Embarrassed,” which suggests opening with the awkwardness itself. Its Down-There Log keeps dates and triggers in your own words for that visit. See the book.