Sex after a c section

[MotherJen123]

Hi

This has probably been done loads of times. When is it okay to start having sex again?
I had my baby 11 days ago and I feel great. I'm out an about again and defo feel ready to start having sex with my husband again.
Obviously we will take it slow and if it starts hurting will immediately stop.
I didn't ask midwives etc on discharge as I wasn't thinking about it at all at the time!!

I'm not sure what the official advice is but after my section I felt fine too, a lot better than I expected. It was good but the downside was I'd often push myself too far (walk for too long without sitting down etc etc) and although I wouldn't feel it at the time I certainly paid for it in the evening or the next day. So what I'm trying to say is although you may feel up to it now you might suffer afterwards and be incredibly achy.

You obviously have to do what you want to and feel comfortable with, but I think the general advice is to try and abstain (irrespective of mode of delivery), as your uterus is more prone to infection up to 6w post-partum. You are likely to be very fertile ATM, so contraception if especially important if you want to avoid another pg. My GP told me that internal wounds take around 12w to heal. As I said though, it is your body, your decision.

FWIW, I had an ELCS with dc2 and felt comfortable enough to have sex at 8w after the birth.

Just to say please be careful with overdoing it. I felt great too and got back into the swing of things quite early on as I have a 4 year old too. However I ended up very poorly 4 weeks in with an infection and my wound has a hole in it. It requires packing and dressing every single day and it's horrid and I'm in pain. Im nearly 6 weeks post section and am setback by weeks. I'm practically housebound and struggling to do basic things. Its going to take a long while to heal I'm told. Had I been more careful this would not have happened. You've had major abdominal surgery and just because you think your fine doesn't mean you are. Please seek medical advice first!!

I don't think any hard and fast ruled, ultimately it's up to you. I think the rule of thumb is 6 weeks. Just don't do too much. Remember the stitches aren't just the visible external but go right through to your uterus. Maybe have non penetrative sex?
After my planned section, we didn't necessarily wait (I would have been too bloody knackered to do it earlier!) but our sex life resumed after about 6-8 weeks. I had a really straightforward recovery.

we waited about 5 or 6 weeks. obviously you know how you feel best but as others have said, you may feel ok but your body is still doing a lot of healing. I felt absolutely fine from about 4 weeks and so I foolishly tried to lift and carry a small table that needed moving. I could feel my wound pulling and it REALLY hurt for a few days after. You've got all the time in the world, no point rushing it.

I've just has my third c-section and each time I've been told to wait at least 4 weeks before having sex. TBH I've never wanted to try before then as I've heard some horror stories about people not letting themselves heal properly post section, including at least a couple of people who burst their stiches - ow!

We did it very ggently after 10 days the first time. No one said anything about waiting. I thought it was a when you are ready thing.
It was fine

There is a risk of infection, you have layers of stitches and there is a titchy but very serious risk of air embolism from sex too soon after birth. I mean we're talking 18 women died in 30 years from it (that's 18 out of millions of women) and it's the tiniest of risks but it's worth knowing.

It will take 3 or 4 weeks for your uterus to heal. Not just from the incision but bear in mind that you will also have a wound the size of a dinner plate from the placenta.

I felt absolutely fine after both of my EMCS and was back walking my eldest to school 4 days after my second, but I did overdo it, picked my 4yo up to swing her around on day 8 and I tore part of my wound open. I cannot tell you how much that stings!

I'd go with having fun, plenty of intimacy but perhaps avoid penetrative sex for another couple of weeks.