We all know you can achieve an orgasm from clitoral or vaginal simulation. But did you know that the cervix is also a pleasure zone? We rounded up the most pressing concerns about cervix penetration so you can get down to business worry-free. The bare-bones definition of penetration is this: any object that makes its way through or into something.

The following situations and conditions can contribute to or cause pain during intercourse or other forms of penetration. The first few times you have intercourse or experience vaginal penetration, you may feel a small to moderate amount of pain at the entrance to the vagina. There can be some bleeding or no bleeding at all—both are normal. The reasons for the pain are not always clear, but it is typically temporary.

Read on to learn more about why it happens, how to prevent it from happening again, and more. How it feels will depend on how badly you were injured. Think about smacking your knee on the coffee table — it can hurt, or it can really hurt. In an article for Bustle , one writer shared that bruising her cervix made her feel like she was being poked on the inside with a red-hot poker.

Educating yourself and reaching out for help are two of the most important steps toward taking sex from ouch to ooooooh. Painful sex has a medical term, dyspareunia, and while it often occurs during intercourse, it may also happen before or after a romp. Sorenson J, et al. Evaluation and treatment of female sexual pain: A clinical review. DOI: