When Can You Have Sex after a Baby?

You’d agree that childbirth is one of the most bittersweet moments of parenting. Sex, on the other hand, is an integral part of any relationship, but when can you have sex after having a baby? In this article, you will learn what sex feels like after birth and the right time to have sex after birth.

Complications of Child Birth

Complications are bound to occur while in labor and after labor which is the post-delivery period. Such are:

1.  Baby Positioning

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The breach position shows the baby’s delivery as a matter of the feet coming out before the head. If trying to change the baby’s position in the womb fails, you will be forced to undergo a caesarian delivery, also known as C.S, and as you suspect, it would take a very long time to heal.

2.  Meager weight

Malnutrition is often the cause of a minimum weight of your baby’s birth. Intake of unhealthy substances such as alcohol can also contribute to the poor state of your baby’s weight. It is also a complicated situation as your baby would most likely be placed on an incubator. It also puts such babies at a high risk of infections and learning disabilities.

How Can Complications Be Prevented?

1. Imbibe a healthy dietary system before the pregnancy period, such as intake of enough fruits, proteins, and others.
2. Make sure you always attend routine checks and follow your physician’s advice.
3. Put yourself away from the intake of alcoholic substances or medications that may endanger the life of your baby.

What Does Sex Feel Like After Child Birth?

Before answering the question, ‘when can you have sex after having a baby?’, it is important to know what sex may feel like after childbirth. Having a baby would undoubtedly change the physical prototype of sex. It may also be different due to reduced vaginal muscle tone and a constrained level of stretching the body. Some may want to start having sex not long from the delivery period, but it would be different for the first few months if they try it.

The estrogen level is bound to reduce drastically during the postpartum period, leading to dryness of the vaginal. The post-delivery changes can make the vaginal thinner and a bit more sensitive. It would take time for your vagina, uterus, and cervix to return to the normal side, and the stress of childbirth will reduce your libido.

It tends to persist for no lesser than six weeks, especially during the intense breastfeeding stage. Breastfeeding as a factor tends to reduce your sex drive, making sex painful for you due to the reduced circulating hormones level. So it is necessary to take time off from sex after giving birth.

How Does Child Delivery Affect Sex?

It is not unusual to experience sex-related issues in the first quarterly period after child delivery. Although the problems begin to decline as the months increase away from the delivery period, it is mandated to be very careful to avoid a high risk of complications like uterine infections and postpartum hemorrhage. Common issues that arise from sex after childbirth are:

1. Dryness of the vaginal.
2. Perineal tear.
3. Constant bleeding.
4. Soreness.
5. Fatigue.
6. Low rate of libido strength.
7. Extreme fatigue.

Some of these complications can lead to irritations and infections, and they will require a long time to pass the recovery stage. Nonetheless, these factors don’t directly answer, ‘when can you have sex after having a baby?’

Steps That Can Reduce Painful Sex

1. You have to control the depth of the penetration by exploring different favorable sex positions.
2. You should increase the lubrication of your vagina before you engage in any sexual activity.
3. Take pain-relieving drugs before you have sex with your partner.

How Soon Can You Get Pregnant Again?

It is possible to get pregnant again not long after delivering a baby. Ovulation for women who have passed breastfeeding is about six weeks or less. But if you are still breastfeeding, the hormonal advantages can control any likely birth activity for about six months after the last delivery.

It is better to use a control method or not have sex within that period to risk having another baby so soon. Getting pregnant too early like that can increase the risk of premature birth, and it is capable of causing dangerous congenital disabilities. It is recommended to give at least a 12 or 18-month gap before trying to conceive again.

Effects of Pregnancy and Delivery

The hormones of your estrogen are crucial to your baby’s healthy development when you are still pregnant. As high as they are, they automatically revert to how they were before pregnancy. You may not have any sexual desires for some time, but after about two months, you should recover, but it is advisable if you patiently wait till all restores to normal.

Tips for a Post-Pregnancy Healthy Sex Life

1.  Create time for sex

Always ensure you set a time for being intimate with your partner. The presence of a new intruder would decrease the spontaneous time with your partner, so catching up makes a good time for both of you.

2.  Practice Kegels exercise

It helps rebuild pelvic floor muscles. Exercising the muscles can help you amass the strength lost in your vagina and increase your stamina level.

3.  Increase Foreplay

Allow your vagina to generate its natural lubrication. Engage in pre-activities before you proceed to penetrative sex.

When Can You Have Sex After Having a Baby?

The most likely change you and your partner will first experience will be insufficient sleep. Afterward, you may face some challenges trying to get your body back in shape – sex would not flatten that tummy. Moreover, these are not exactly signs that will make you urge for sex after birth.

Breastfeeding makes the body release a hormone called oxytocin. This oxytocin brings about good feelings towards the baby but at the expense of your libido. From an anthropological point of view, keeping your libido low is your body’s way to prevent premature pregnancy again. Always feel at ease for patients because they find that they do not like sex for a reason.

Also Read:

My Husband is like another Child 

How to save your relationship from a breakup

Conclusion

Although there is no necessary waiting time to when can you have sex after having a baby, many health care providers recommend that, regardless of the method of delivery, wait until four to six weeks after giving birth before having sex. The risk of complications is highest in the first two weeks after delivery.

Nonetheless, waiting will also give your body time to recover. Asides from the postpartum discharge and vaginal tears you will face, you may also experience fatigue, vaginal dryness, pain, and low libido. If your vaginal tear needs surgery to repair, you may have to wait longer.