For many women, sex during pregnancy can be arduous and many pregnant women simply aren’t up to it during those months.
Many women have the exact opposite experience, but for many women, there is a marked loss of libido when pregnant. However, this lost intimacy need not carry on after the arrival of the baby.
Women who have undergone a normal delivery may want to wait about 4 to 6 weeks before initiating intercourse, particularly if an episiotomy cut was made. However, many women who have had a C section find that it is possible to have sex even earlier.
Possible problems – Firstly there is the physical healing that has to take place and the exhaustion to overcome, after the delivery that could make a couple postpone intercourse. Also, with a woman’s hormones being all over the place after delivery, she may take time to feel in the mood.
There could also be problems such as reduced vaginal lubrication, again due to the hormonal changes. Then there is the fact that the baby seems to take up all of mommy’s time, attention and energy and there seems to be little left over for anyone else.
However it is important to overcome obstacles and resume intimacy for the sake of the individuals involved as well as their relationship. Any medical problems or difficulties should of course be ruled out, and then the couple should make the effort to get it back on, so to speak.
At this time it is important not to let the baby become a reason for not resuming a warm and loving relationship, because it can cause resentment and confusion for the other person. While a woman’s attention and focus would naturally shift to a new baby, it should not be to the exclusion of all else.
Take advantage of nap times and other times when the baby is sleeping to spend quality time together which is intimate if not necessarily physical. Create romance at home, and renew the relationship.
Doing pelvic floor muscle exercises is always a good idea, not just during pregnancy but after it as well, to tone muscles there and keep them in good health.
This will also help with sex post pregnancy, improving feeling and enhancing pleasure. This will also help restore the muscles of the perineum, which were greatly taxed and stretched during pregnancy, to their former structure.
