Should I Wait To Have Sex After Marriage?

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JAKARTA - There is no required waiting period when you can have sex with your legal partner after giving birth, but some health experts recommend that you delay it for a few weeks. Your body goes through a lot during labour. During labour, painful contractions become your body's way of pushing the baby down and out of the birth canal, as the cervix opens.

If the delivery is by cesarean section, then there is a major operation to cut the skin, fat, muscle, and uterus so that the baby can be removed from the womb. While vaginal delivery involves tearing the perineum.

Regardless of the delivery method, you will be advised to take pelvic rest so that your body recovers from the effects of labour, says ob-gyn expert Sherry Ross, MD, as quoted by ANTARA from Health, Friday, July 15.

This advice is not only for your body to heal, but also because the risk of postpartum complications, such as infection in the incision or tear, is highest during the first two weeks after delivery.

Then, how long can you have sex after giving birth? Again, no waiting period is required. But the Mayo Clinic reports most healthcare providers advise waiting four to six weeks.

"Usually at a six-week postpartum visit with your doctor, you'll be examined and given the green light to have sex again regardless of the type of labor you're having," says Ross.

But the four to six week period is just a rule of thumb for how long to wait. Amy Hill Fife, a physical therapist specializing in pelvic health in Colorado, United States, recommends six to eight weeks as a standard. She says sometimes it can even be 12 weeks or more waiting for the vulvovaginal tissue to heal.

"If labor is uncomplicated with minimal vaginal tearing, no episiotomy, and stage 2 (pushing phase) labor is about two hours long, then six to eight weeks may be a good time," says Fife.

The wait may be longer if you have a vaginal tear that needs to be repaired surgically, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"Mom ultimately has to be the one to decide when she's ready to have sex," says Fife.

In addition to healing vaginal and perineal tissues, important considerations about when to have sex after delivery are the support the mother receives after delivery, the level of fatigue, and the level of desire to have sex.

"Many women who breastfeed experience pain, nipple bleeding, mastitis, or uncomfortable breast tissue. None of these increase desire for sex," says Fife.