FOR an awkward week each month, many women can feel uncomfortable having sex with their partner - mostly due the mess that period sex entails.

But one woman has come up with a genius new product so that her counterparts can still enjoy getting down to it - mess-free - when it's that time of the month.

3 The new invention, Flex, designed by American Lauren Schulte so women can have sex when they are on their period Credit: Flexfits

American inventor Lauren Schulte has designed Flex, which she describes as a "disposable menstrual product."

But unlike conventional tampons, Flex sits higher up the vagina and covers the cervix, and stops any fluids entering the vaginal canal.

And this means that not only does it offer an alternative to tampons, it also allows women to have sex on their period without any mess.

3 The product is worn high up in the vagina and also doubles as a "disposable menstrual product" Credit: Flexfits

The company behind Flex say that it is made from a medical-grade polymer, can be worn for up to 12 hours and claims it won't cause toxic shock syndrome.

And Lauren says she came up with the idea for Flex after she started researching alternatives after getting sick of using tampons.

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The California native added that she was horrified that the sanitary product that millions of women around the globe turn to each month was actually invented in the 1930s.

She explained: "When I learned that, I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to making something better for women.

"We’ve built a product that allows couples to increase their opportunity to have sex by 23 per cent.

3 A diagram showing how Flex is worn high up in the vagina, covering the cervix so it stops fluids from entering the vaginal canal Credit: Flexfits

"The great tragedy of people avoiding sex on their period is that this is really the time when women want it most.”

Lauren then spent two years researching and making prototypes and is now set to launch the product.

More than 20,000 people have already signed up to trial Flex, with a quarter of them being men, and pre-orders will open soon.

It comes after another product is set to be released on the market that claims to give women better orgasms as well as tighten the pelvic floor.

While last month, we reported on another new vagina ‘tightening’ procedure that promises to work in under an hour… but it’ll set you back £2,000.

