Pregnancy is the gestation period of female mammals, during which one or more young, known as fetus or embryo, is carried in the uterus. In case of human beings, this period usually lasts for nine months and is typically categorized into three trimester periods. Each of the periods refers to various stages of prenatal development. Pregnancy contraceptives are used extensively to prevent childbirth. Now while any discussion directly or indirectly connected to pregnancy also refers to sexual intercourse and orgasmic pleasures, it might be worth taking a look at the other side of the coin as well.
Abstinence refers to a deliberate withdrawal from seeking or indulging in corporeal pleasures. It encompasses a total desisting from sexual consummation, food or alcohol. The practice of abstinence is a kind of self-denial for the sake of practical considerations or religious inhibitions.
Abstinence has many dimensions, arraying from fasting to choosing a life of renunciation. Since the process requires a conscious practice which is intentionally taken up to explore the spiritual dimensions of life, abstinence must not be confused with repression.
Sigmund Freud, the forefather of psychoanalysis, used the term 'sublimation' with regards to the channeling of sexual desires and energies into other more socially as well as culturally acceptable activities.
Most religions in the world promulgate ascetic aspects of living. Abstinence might have its root there. It might also rise up from a personal need for spiritual discipline. Traces of abstinent practices can be found both in Islamic and Christian religious rites.
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Sexual abstinence refers to putting in rigorous efforts to abstain from both the outward expressions of sexual desire as well as inward longing for the same. Premarital sex, for instance, is condemnable in many religions. Many traditional Catholics value chastity and refrain from any kind of premarital sexual relationship.
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