Painful intercourse after c-section?

[Shootingstar2289]

I had my second c-section nearly 6 months ago and I have been suffering from painful sex.. Me and my partner have never had this problem before so we decided to try some Durex lubrication which hasn't seemed to help. If anything made it worse as I have extremely sensitive skin.

The pain is at the start and eases a little after a little while.

We haven't had sex more than a handful of times since our daughter was born.. Maybe we need it more often? Lol..

Has anyone else had this? Any advice?

[Cinnamon2013]

Sorry to hear about this. Could it be due to you tensing up in anticipation of discomfort? That can then become something of a vicious circle.

I had c-section and no problems afterwards but I've had experience of long periods of pain during intercourse before with previous partners, due to it hurting once and then tensing etc.

Whereabouts is the pain? External/internal? If it's deep inside I would definitely get yourself checked out to rule out infections/PID

[Booboostwo]

Are you breastfeeding? I have low oestrogen with breastfeeding which makes sex extremely painful. It feels like the entrance to my vagina is a ring of fire that refuses to stretch in the normal way. With DD it went away around 18m after birth when she cut back on bf, still waiting with DS who is 16mo.

Depending on where the pain is it might be worth seeing a physio who specialises in women's health as there are some pelvic issues caused by pregnancy that can make sex painful.

[Shootingstar2289]

I have had painful intercourse with previous partners too Cinnamon2013 made worse by tension and previous partners being a little rushed. It was a major problen problen with previous partners but this is different.. I have never had this problem with my partner as he has never made me feel pressured or rushed or anything.

The pain is definitely external, not internal.

I am not breast feeding booboostwo. I never had this problen with my first..

I was extremely bruised in my pubic after my second section but surely this would be ok by now?

[Abi0783]

Yes I got this and also thought it was caused by csection but it was an accumulation of stress, being tired and tensing (without knowing I was). It got worse the more I thought about it as I then linked pain to sex and would tense up more!

If it's not medically related then the following helped me

In the early days agree to no penetration and more foreplay (as takes the link away from it being painful so you can relax and try and enjoy foreplay etc ) ... Also instead of trying to have sex at night when you are more knackered try during morning or when little one is napping and you have no chores or other disturbances...

It did get better gradually once we were in a routine and little one slept through the night and she had her own room.

Hope this helps x