Sex After Giving Birth

How soon is too soon?

It is recommended to wait six weeks after giving birth before you have sex. Some try earlier, but then it's a good idea to use a condom to protect the area. If you are experiencing bleeding, wait until after any bleeding has stopped to reduce the risk of infection while you are healing.

The urge to have sex may not be at peak when you have a small baby glued to your body 24/7 and you are tired, perhaps not feeling super confident in your post pregnancy body and extra emotional. Vanessa, a 32 year old mother from UK, remembers the first time after birth like this: "It almost felt like it was wrong to to it, and I was a little scared. This sounds strange considering it was my husband and I love him very much, but I got into it after a few weeks."

She adds that it might be a good idea to lower the expectations in the beginning and go by the Nike slogan "just do it". It will get better.