"Still stretch": What happens to sex after giving birth
It is believed that after giving birth a woman forgets about herself and fully concentrates on the child - and even if this is not the case, the child still requires more attention, and the mother "will somehow figure it out herself." This toxic position leads to the fact that women often do not know what to expect after returning from the maternity hospital in terms of well-being and body changes, and issues related to sexual life are not covered. Although in reality there is nothing special about them: sex after pregnancy exists.
When can we start
The main recommendation of gynecologists, which concerns sex with penetration, is one: do not rush. When the birth ends with the separation of the placenta, on the inner surface of the uterus remains essentially open wound, which should heal. The uterus, cervix and vagina take time to shrink and become normal, and a woman needs a break to recover and in general want sex. The average time to start vaginal sex is six weeks. In about this time, the body copes with the main effects of childbirth. Fully confirm readiness for sex can be a gynecologist, who in any case should be visited in those same six weeks.
You should refrain from anal sex as much, especially if the seams from tears or cuts were left to remember the birth. Sexual activity can cause these stitches to disperse or just hurt. In addition, anal contacts can be hampered by hemorrhoids - a frequent complication after natural childbirth and attempts. But sexual activity in general (oral sex and petting, for example) is not contraindicated: many women practice it already 3-4 weeks after giving birth, and this passes without consequences for the body.
Difficulties after cesarean section
It seems that it is easier to return to sexual life after cesarean section than after natural childbirth, because the vagina is not injured during the operation. However, women report various problems within three months after giving birth, and it does not matter how they passed. It happens that a cesarean section is performed urgently when difficulties arise already during childbirth - and this means that both labor and cervical dilatation precede it. Therefore, for security reasons, penetrating sex is better not to rush until the body returns to its normal state. It takes between four and six weeks, during which women who have undergone a cesarean section are also given bleeding - perhaps they will end earlier than in the case of natural childbirth. In any case, caesarean - is abdominal surgery, and you need to wait until the seams on the internal organs are fully healed.
How breaks and cuts affect sex
In childbirth episiotomy is sometimes used, that is, cut through the perineum. This is necessary for many reasons, for example, when it is necessary to speed up delivery or the child is in the wrong presentation. The perineum is cut in order to prevent tissue breaks - especially if there is a risk of severe ruptures of a third or fourth degree. That is, the wound would be in any case, but the difference between a torn, with muscle damage, and a neat surgical incision, not affecting the important organs, is significant. In addition, after dissection, it is easier to apply even seams, and the wound heals faster. True, now there is more and more evidence that the light tears (at the level of only the mucous membrane) heal well and the episiotomy is shown only to individual patients with difficult childbirth.
Sometimes stitches have to be applied not only to the perineum, but also to the cervix and the walls of the vagina, depending on how severe the damage was during delivery. In any case, by the time lochia (postpartum discharge) ends, the stitches are already in order and the wounds are tight. Discomfort may be present during genital sex, even a few months after childbirth. Sometimes this is due to how the tears have grown together: pain can occur for some time due to damage to the nerve endings. As a rule, the discomfort can be eliminated without special treatment, and if the tears or cuts were well stitched and have already healed, just enough of a normal preparation for sex is enough: to get horny, use lubricant and not be in a hurry.
How to protect themselves after childbirth
By lactational amenorrhea - the absence of menstruation during breastfeeding - as a method of contraception is usually considered to be disdainful: almost every person will have a story about "the girlfriend who breastfed and became pregnant." Nevertheless, at the early stage of breastfeeding, ovulation really does not occur (that is, the egg does not mature), and pregnancy cannot occur, but only with strict observance of four conditions.
Firstly, breastfeeding should be the only nutrition of the child. Secondly, the frequency of feeding plays an important role in maintaining hormonal levels that do not allow ovulation: a child should receive breast milk at least every four hours (that is, at least six times a day). The third condition - should pass no more than six months after childbirth, and the fourth - the absence of menstruation. An important disadvantage of lactational amenorrhea as a method of contraception is that it is impossible to predict when the first egg will mature - you can become pregnant during this period. And since there were no periods yet, there will be no delay, one of the main signs of pregnancy. A woman may not pay attention to other changes, because a nursing mother constantly breastfeeds, and the body does not behave as usual.
By and large, the short term, while the lactational amenorrhea is in effect, is given to us by nature in order to recover, orient and start using effective methods of contraception - these may be condoms or non-hormonal intrauterine devices, or certain types of hormonal contraceptives. During breastfeeding, drugs are prescribed that contain only the progestin component: some pills (called mini-pills), hormonal implants, and intrauterine systems. Estrogen-containing combination oral contraceptives may weaken lactation (but not all studies support this), which is undesirable if a woman wants to continue breastfeeding. Therefore, combined contraceptives are recommended only after breastfeeding has been established, and not earlier than six weeks after delivery. In addition, there is a theoretical risk that the hormones that the mother takes may affect the health of the child (because of the immaturity of the liver and kidneys, it is difficult for children to process the hormones ingested in milk). However, there is no evidence of harm (as well as complete security).
Why after childbirth do not want sex
Not for all women a six-week abstinence after childbirth becomes difficult. Some, on the contrary, for a long time do not want to think about sex. Surveys show that in the first eight months after the birth of a child, the quality of sex and satisfaction with intimate life are noticeably reduced. There are several factors: parents of a small child often suffer from lack of sleep and fatigue, which do not contribute to desire. Hormonal changes after gestation and childbirth lead to vaginal dryness, stitches and injuries hurt. In the end, pregnancy, childbirth and the associated fatigue change the body. The question is not even in the concept of beauty - you just have to get used to yourself, too many new sensations give birth to a child. So sex is not always desirable, and this is absolutely normal. Even if the prescribed six weeks are long gone, and you are not ready yet, it means you are not ready, whatever the gynecologist would say.
Does the vagina stretch after childbirth?
Well, we must not forget about the main postpartum horror stories - stretched vagina, in which too much space and little pleasure. Indeed, the vagina expands to miss the baby. But this is not only due to mechanical stretching - hormones help the tissues. After childbirth, their level returns to normal, and all organs gradually contract and take on virtually the same appearance as before pregnancy. The pelvic floor muscles may become somewhat weaker - and the gynecologist will be able to distinguish the woman who has given birth from the birthless woman. But without inspection on the gynecological chair it is unnoticeable and not so important. Yes, for some time, vaginal sex may be unusual, not like you used to, but later everything will return to normal; to speed up this process, you can always perform exercises to train the muscles of the pelvic floor, and then the usual sensations will return quickly. Also do not forget that the main friend of a woman in matters of orgasm is the clitoris.
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