How long you should wait to have sex after having a baby

In those fraught days, weeks and months following your baby’s arrival, you learn how to cope without many of the things you used to enjoy, pre-baby. And you do so willingly because, frazzling and emotional as it can be, it's nevertheless a really special time.

Besides, who needs eight hours sleep, anyway? But as time passes and you get into the rhythm of parenting, you may start to think about having sex again. No new parent - especially a mum - could be blamed for deliberating on this matter, but what are the exact guidelines?

 

The answer is as subjective as each parent is different, but there are some things you should know.

 

it depends on both what sort of birth the mum had and on when she feels ready.

 

General recommendations are to wait until having your gynaecologist check after six weeks, just to make sure that everything has healed properly and that mum is feeling OK and ready

 

It is also advised to wait until the postpartum bleeding has stopped (often between 10–14 days, but it can continue for several weeks). This is because your uterus is still healing and therefore there's a possibility of infection.

 

If you had a vaginal birth and had an episiotomy or a tear, while the stitches take around 10 days to dissolve, you'll be feeling sore and it can be two weeks for the healing process to begin.

·      A natural birth with no tearing or cut may mean you feel readier earlier to have sex, but you should nevertheless take it easy.

·      For mums who have a c-section, the scar should have healed by the time the stitches are removed. Try and find positions which don't put pressure on it.

Above all else, take your time and wait until you're ready.