Is it normal to have numb bits over 3 months after childbirth?

[eenysugarplumfairy]

Hi! I had our baby in August. Just attempted sex with DH and couldnt because my bits were so numb I felt no sensation so couldnt get into the swing of things. I had a failed epidural in my labour which was fairly traumatic... Is this normal? When will I get sensation back in my bits?

BTW I think a bit of 'failed intimacy' is better than no intimacy (will give you a taste of things to come - if anything !) At least you can then have a laugh, and that also creates intimacy even if its not quite the kind you were hoping for!

Exactly, HelloMama

Well Lulu I will blame it on the pelvic floor then! must do those exercises which I hate.

Just a thought - I think it is worth going to see a good osteopath / cranial osteopath. They will be able to assess your low back and sacrum and coccyx areas and identify any areas which may be affecting the nerves that come out of that area to your clitoris and vaginal areas etc. A squashed nerve doesn't work so well and this may have occurred easily during labour / birth. It wouldn't involve any internal examination or treatment, so don't worry. I would recommend that you tell them your story before booking in with them - they should be able to tell you if they are the right osteo to help you or not.

thanks for the advice baretoes!! if the pelvic floor exercises dont work after a while I will do that !

On the subject on pelvic floor muscles - does anyone have any hints/tips for ways to remembering to do them often enough? Ie at the same time as organising children and the other million things you have to think of in a day?
While i was bf it was easy to do them while I was feeding, but now have big probs remembering. And i NEED to be doing them. Still having issues there after very hard fast delivery (20 mins of pushing after failed epidural).
Eeny - i was pretty numb for a while, but sensation has come back now.

st a trigger for pelvic floor exercises ie traffic lights, making a cup of tea, changing a nappie etc

Mmmmm - I usually advise buying a sheet of stickers (e.g. red circles) and place one on the kettle, bathroom mirror, toothbrush etc etc and then every time you see a sticker, you do a batch of pelvic floor exercises!!

I echo the pelvic floor exercises, my yoga teacher recommends you do them every 2 hours in the first weeks and months after birth! Her tip for a trigger was to do them while the baby's feeding, in the case of my DS this was at least every two hours at first so fitted quite well.

For pelvic floors I recommend Pilates if you can get into a class. Almost all the instructions include a "zip up through your pelvic floor"! I would definitely mention this to your GP too, who may well refer you to a physio.

TBH my initial reaction to your prob was No it's not normal. But on the other hand, this is such an intimate thing that it's not so likely to be discussed in face-to-face conversations so it might be more normal than I think.

My physio gave me a great idea for remembering pelvic floor exercises - do them whenever you have just gone to the loo, and are still sitting there! Sounds strange, but it's easy to remember.

Also, it has the advantage of working them just a little bit more. Since they are not supported by whatever you are sitting on the muscles have to work a little bit harder to really do the exercises well.