Women over 35 are embracing their sexuality, suggests a recent survey. Of 500 women (ages 35 to 49) surveyed, 76 percent wanted to maintain healthy sex lives and almost 50 percent said they initiate sex with their partner, according to a survey reported on by WebMD Health News.

Women also reported that sex gets better with age and that they have sex more than once a week, according to the survey, conducted by Teva Women’s Health, a contraceptives manufacturer.

“Women in this age group are so often chalked up as soccer moms and cast as not having a libido, so the fact that so many of them are ‘going for it’ is really contrary to what people believe,” said Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD, MS, Ed, a sexologist.

Researchers credit the sexual surge among this demographic to strengthened partnership bonds, positive body image, newly single status and better television images of women older than 35.

But women uninterested in becoming pregnant must remember to use a reliable contraceptive method.

Shari Brasner, MD, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, indicates that 51 percent of pregnancies among women in their 40s are unplanned.

Survey participants felt they were fertile until their early 50s, but only 25 percent said they saw a need to use birth control.

As Brasner noted, “This is a complete disconnect.”

Learn why sex is good for your health here.