|
Some couples resume their sex lives quite soon after the birth,
while other couples still have not established a sex life 1 year after the
birth.
It is in many ways a big upheaval having a child. The majority of
parents are positively surprised that even infants have a personality, and that
they in a position to have very active contact with their parents.
They have requirements in contact with their parents and do not
just accept what they are given. Some parents are less positive in maintaining
that infants sometimes cry a great deal without the parents knowing why, and it
can be difficult to find out the sleep rhythms of infants.
A child sleeps 16 - 18 hours a day, so s/he may never sleep when
it would be most appropriate for the parents - and in each case, the majority of
infants will wake up several times a night.
Exhaustion
New parents face many demands on both their psychological and
their physical strengths. The majority of parents with infants are actually
unbelievably tired.
This exhaustion can cause problems in the couple's relationship.
It can become more difficult to concentrate on each other, and they become
irritable more easily and have less energy for a sex life.
Discomfort or
pain during intercourse
For many women and men, the first intercourse will feel different
from before, partly because during the first months after the birth, there will
be less moisture in the vagina.
The reduction in moisture can be attributed to changes in the
hormones occurring in connection with pregnancy and birth. In some women, these
changes can last throughout the nursing period and are therefore not in
themselves an expression of a lack of sex drive. Reduced moisture can be
alleviated with exploration creme ('glidecreme').
If a woman has been sewn in connection with an incision or a tear
during the birth, the wound will usually be healed after 10 - 12 days. Some
women, however, feel pain or discomfort for a longer period. This may be because
they are afraid that they will feel pain during intercourse, and therefore the
muscles tense around the vagina, so the pain can be attributed to muscle
tension, but there can also be soreness near the sutures. If the pain does not
disappear of its own accord, you should see your doctor.
Some women may lose small amounts of blood for quite a while - up
to 6 - 8 weeks. This bleeding does not need to prevent you from resuming
intercourse, but until the bleeding has stopped, you should use condoms to
prevent the risk of infection in the uterus.
If you have intercourse shortly after the birth, you will probably
experience that the vagina does not close as tightly around the penis as it did
before the birth. This may cause alarm, but a woman can easily retrain her
pelvic floor musculature so her vagina closes tightly around the penis
again.
"Air" in the vagina can be inconvenient during intercourse, but
will also disappear afterwards as the pelvic floor is retrained. In addition to
the physical changes, the majority of couples also experience that the first
intercourse after the birth will take place in a different atmosphere from
before.
Prevention
As the first ovulation following the birth will take place before
the first period, there is a risk of unwanted pregnancy if you do not take
precautions. Nursing is no guarantee that you cannot become pregnant. Condoms
are appropriate during this period. Contraceptive pills must not be used whilst
you are nursing.
Back to article
overview |
