How Long After Giving Birth Can You Have Sex?
It can be intimidating to even think about having sex after giving birth. The postpartum time period is filled with so many changes, adaptations, and new experiences in your body and with your baby. We aren’t typically talking about sex with our clients until they’ve reached the four-week postpartum mark, at a minimum. That being said, we know that having sex is an important part of being human and it can also be really important for many relationships to know when you’ll be able to have sex with your partner again.
An Introduction to Sex After Birth
Sex after birth can take some practice as well as trial, error, and repair. We encourage all postpartum people to go at their own pace and to choose to have sex again once they’re ready both physically and emotionally. Giving birth can have many impacts on the body and the mind and we strongly encourage that people be ready in all aspects before resuming sex after birth.
How Long After Giving Birth Can You Have Sex?
There are a few different things to consider before having sex after birth:
Make sure that your postpartum bleeding has discontinued entirely. If someone is still experiencing spotting off and on then it isn’t time for them to resume sex quite yet. We recommend that bleeding has discontinued completely for at least 48 hours before having sex again after having a baby.
Make sure that you are not in any physical pain, or if you are, that you have received a pelvic floor assessment from a skilled provider before having sex.
Make sure that you’re authentically excited about having sex again! If you aren’t feeling that way quite yet, then it might not be time.
This timeline looks different for everybody. Some people may be done with their postpartum bleeding at 2 weeks postpartum while others take up to 8 weeks for spotting to discontinue completely. For some breastfeeding parents, the idea of having sex again just a month or two after having a baby can be so unfathomable. We encourage people to honor themselves if they just aren’t ready. Breastfeeding can create the experience of being touched out, meaning you have a baby that is needing you physically throughout the entire day, so when it comes to having sex with your partner you just aren’t ready for more touch from another person. However, other people would like to have sex again as soon as they are cleared to do so from their healthcare provider. We recommend an individualized approach when determining how long someone should wait to resume sex after giving birth. Midwives are great at offering this!
Will Sex After Birth Be Different?
Sex after birth can be different. It’s not always different though. There are two major changes that someone might want to prepare for:
Breastfeeding hormones have a tendency to dry up natural vaginal lubrication, so we recommend that people anticipate a need to use more lubrication during sex than they needed to before giving birth. This is different for everyone and is about personal preference. This is normal!
There can be changes to the pelvic floor muscles and pelvic floor tone after giving birth. If your pelvic floor has not yet fully recovered after having a baby then it’s possible that the sensations of sex may feel different. If you experience pain with sex then we recommend that you seek out pelvic floor therapy. Ongoing pain with sex after giving birth is not normal and is not something that people have to live with! If you notice a significant change in sensation or orgasm with sex after giving birth, you can receive physical therapy to improve this over time.
If you are not fully satisfied with your experience of having sex after given birth then we recommend starting a movement program like what is offered by Erin Underwood Movement, where people can learn about how to move their bodies to repair dysfunction or dissatisfaction over time. Many people find great benefits in seeking pelvic floor therapy to correct any changes to their pelvic muscles after giving birth, which can significantly improve the experience of having sex in the postpartum.
All of that being said, for many people, once they have regularly resumed having sex after giving birth, it isn’t different and the differences that they did notice earlier on in their postpartum resolve with a little bit of time.
Answered: How Long After Giving Birth Can You Have Sex?
It depends! We encourage all people to receive postpartum care to their level of satisfaction, and that includes pelvic floor care to help someone decide when it is appropriate for them to resume having sex after giving birth. We recommend to each of our clients that they wait until their postpartum bleeding has discontinued for at least 48 hours and until they feel ready both physically and emotionally to have sex. We offer each of our clients a pelvic floor assessment at the end of their care with us so that we can help them decide when might the right time be for them to resume sexual activity after having a baby.
If you’re interested to learn more, we offer online childbirth education classes to help new and expecting parents. Additionally, if you’re looking for midwives in the Portland OR area, contact us and schedule a free consultation. We would love to hear from you and see if it would be a good fit!
