Is Your Intimacy With Your Partner Being Affected?
During pregnancy, women's bodies go through many changes and experience various mood swings. You can notice that your interest in sex has changed if you're pregnant. There will be changes in your sex life, regardless of how sexual you feel. Being transparent with communication, whether it be through talking about how you feel, trying new positions, or finding more intimate ways, will be the key to a fulfilling and healthy sexual relationship during pregnancy. Let us discuss the intercourse during and after the pregnancy in detail.
Orgasm During Pregnancy Or After Birth
Pregnant women and her partner often wonder if intercourse is safe during pregnancy. Will it cause miscarriage or harm the baby? How long do we have to wait for intercourse after the delivery of the child? Here’s what to know.
Can Intercourse During Pregnancy Harm The Baby? Is It Safe?
Hormonal changes in your body through pregnancy affect your sexual desires. You might feel high or low at times. Also, concern for the baby makes you feel less interested in sexual intercourse. No matter how you feel, communicate freely with your partner, for a satisfying sexual relationship.
- During pregnancy, intercourse is not dangerous to your baby.
- Your baby is protected inside a fluid-filled bag, an amniotic sac. A thick mucus plug seals the cervix.
- The penis cannot affect the foetus inside the womb. Additionally, an orgasm cannot induce labour.
- If you have a normal pregnancy, you need not worry that having an orgasm can cause contractions and induce labour or cause miscarriage. Intercourse is generally safe for an expecting woman, provided she has a normal pregnancy, without any complications.
You should be careful regarding intercourse during pregnancy if:
- Your partner has a history of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as herpes, genital warts, or chlamydia, to prevent your baby from contracting an infection.
- Your doctor states your pregnancy as complicated or risky.
- While having oral sex, your partner should not blow air into the vagina as it could be dangerous, particularly when you have a high-risk pregnancy.
Warning Signs Of Unsafe Intercourse During Pregnancy
You should be cautious with the orgasm while expecting a baby if:
- You had preterm labour in the previous pregnancy, or you delivered a baby before 37 weeks of pregnancy.
- You are pregnant with twins or triplets
- You have vaginal bleeding, cramps, or discharge.
- You have undergone a miscarriage before or are liable to go through it.
- The placenta is lowly placed such that it covers the cervix (Placental Previa).
- Your cervical region is weak, and the cervix dilates prematurely.
- There is leakage of fluid from the vagina.
How Long Should You Wait For Intercourse After Giving Birth?
Should you wait for an orgasm after your baby is born? If yes, for how long? Here’s what you need to know about sex after pregnancy.
- It is recommended to wait for at least two to six weeks for making love after the birth of your tiny tot. If you had a normal vaginal delivery, it would be better to restrain from a sexual relationship for about two weeks.
- If you have the sutures placed in your vaginal area, you should probably wait for another six weeks.
- Vaginal tears and soreness make their presence feel for some time. Also, the stitches dissolve after some time and your vagina needs time to heal. If you gave birth to your little one via a C-Section delivery, your body needs additional time to heal and recover. You should be careful about the incision.
- The area of the incision, as well as your cervix, might be prone to infection. It would be better to abstain from intercourse for a few weeks.
- In general, it is advisable for you to wait and take your time to bounce back to normal.
How Does It Feel? Does It Hurt?
- You might feel slight discomfort or pain during a sexual act for the first few times after giving birth. But don’t worry. That is normal.
- Your cervix will bounce back to its normal shape gradually and the scar tissue which is not much stretchable tends to be flexible over time.
- Your body goes through many changes during pregnancy as well as after delivery. You may have a low sexual drive during this period, which is natural.
- You may go through anxiety, stress, or post-partum depression, which leads to reduced sexual desire.
- You are also diverted to the responsibilities of looking after your newborn, or even your health may not be good.
Conclusion
You may lose interest in getting intimate with your partner after the birth of your baby as you are trying to balance everything. Time is the best healer. Just wait for things to settle down gradually, talk freely to your partner, and try to find other ways of getting intimate.
Meet our expert
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Meet our expert
Dr. Kulyk Alexander Petrovich is a Ukraine-based gynecologist, with extensive experience in women's health. In 1995, he graduated from the Kyiv Medical University, and specialized in gynecology. He then went on to work as a gynecologist in the Institute of Pediatric, Obstetrics and Gynecology in Kyiv, where he worked until the year 2000.
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