Sex after birth

[user293990593]

A little personal but since we're anonymous ...

How long did you wait after giving birth to have sex?

I'm 4 weeks and 4 days post and stopped bleeding around a week ago.

I know the NHS guidelines are 6 weeks but we're getting a little impatient now although both worried as don't want to make anything worse if not fully healed yet, I had a small graze inside and a small vaginal tear which didn't need stitches.

So, how long did you wait? And how was it? Any different than before birth?

Thanks!

3 weeks here. As long as your not sore. Just go easy... obviously not gonna be the most amazing but can't remember it being unpleasant

4 weeks for me, I stopped bleeding after 3 weeks & then the baby randomly slept through, I took the opportunity and pretty much leapt on DP!

As long as you’ve stopped bleeding it should be OK

I bled for 6 weeks 😩. I think we got back to it not long after that though...

Just before six weeks, so we could make sure everything was OK before the six week check.

If you feel you are healed and are ready to get back in the saddle, get on with it! Just take it slow to start with.

I think we waited until just before about 8 weeks with a 2nd degree tear and stitches. We thought I'd maybe get checked but then it became apparent the Covid situation wouldn't allow it so we just went off how I felt.
It wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world but not painful, has got much better now. Just see how you feel and lube is your friend if needed!

9 months here 😂 Neither of us could bring ourselves to do anything while DS was in the same room!

Less than three weeks for us. We used condoms though, because I didn't have the coil fitted until 8 weeks pp. The biggest issue was finding the time when baby was asleep!

10 weeks first time, 4-5 weeks 2nd time. Just make sure you're sorted for contraception, some people are super fertile just after giving birth!

(I had a second degree tear, but thinks healed really well)

6 weeks the first time, due to knackeredness mostly. 2 weeks the second time. As long as you feel ready, go slow and use contraception, crack on. (We used condoms until I got a coil fitted at 12 weeks pp.

About 2 months after first baby. 6 weeks after second.

Contraception as mentioned above. Warn DH it will need to be slow, careful and gentle, and must be abandoned if you find it painful. Plenty of lubricant. Consider positioning yourself on top, and getting DH to lie fairly still while you control the movement. Any problems- seek help at your postnatal check or sooner from your GP. Good luck!

6 weeks and just wanted to check everything worked, not through desire!

Probably 6 weeks with each. I know a girl who says she had sex the day she gave birth, I find it hard to believe, and I can't see why anyone would have sex on their mind after just delivering their baby!

2 months!!

8 days. A bit disgusting really when I was still bleeding but the heaviness of it has died down. I had stitches inside and out but surprisingly didn’t hurt to much. I blame happy hormones for my actions. X

About 7 weeks, felt like it was something I wanted to get done as if it would never happen again if we didn't get back at it, but silly as it was uncomfortable. Pregnant again and I'll happily wait a few months, we can always be intimate in other ways for the time in between

About 3 weeks here too, only bled heavily for a few days and then it just slowly tapered off about 2 and half weeks after birth. Used condoms as hadn't started on the pill yet and used lube, took it slow

I think I read that until 6 weeks after birth you could still get an infection from sex, so the advice is to leave it until then.

4 months for me but because I bled for 4 months. Probably would have been ok after 2-3 months (2nd degree tear with a stitch) but couldn’t. I was anxious about how it would go but perfectly normal and no different thankfully!

About 6 months, i couldn't have imagined anything worse before then

Six weeks, because that's when all the advice said to. Wish we'd waited as I found it very painful and reminded me of my traumatic birth having anything in that area! I had a substantial episiotomy which took 14 months to stop hurting though. Will wait until I feel ready rather than what the NHS says this time.

Must have been about twelve weeks? I think I bled for about six and just generally felt grim with a numb section scar, leaky boobs, hairy legs and sleepless nights. Couldn't have felt less sexy if I'd tried.

I read somewhere, probably here, that the placenta essentially leaves an open wound when it detaches from the uterus. That's apparently where the infection risk is, rather than your vagina. Happy to be corrected if I've misunderstood though.

I wouldn't recommend it but honestly, just over a week with both children, I had no stitches and only bled for a few days after birth. I have been called Iron Fanny once or twice.
It was certainly a bit more loose but all back to normal soon after so suppose I should just have waited as it did worry me both times that I was now a baggy void of emptiness.

I was still quite amorous even during the exhaustion, all loved up and soppy. You will know when your ready, follow your heart, follow your vagina.

Five months. Had a second degree tear, a lot of stitches and then 10 weeks of pain from a granulated scar which needed treatment. None of which made me feel remotely like having sex!

I do remember being very nervous that it was going to be bad and it was totally fine, to my surprise. So I initiated a lot more of it after that!