Fact & Fiction: Sex After Pregnancy

(CBS)  There are a lot of myths about when it's okay for new parents to be intimate again and just what to expect after the birth of baby. So on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" Lisa Masterson, OB/GYN and host of CBS' "The Doctors," separated fact from fiction.

Women should wait four to six weeks after giving birth before having sex: TRUE
Masterson said, "In general, four to six weeks because the body has to heal. So that's what we really suggest in general. But you have to talk to your doctor because in case you have things like infections or things that may make it more difficult, it may be a little bit longer. I get mommies asking me for a prescription not to have sex. They go please, doctor, give it me so I don't have to have section. But in general, four to six weeks."

Women who give birth by C-section do not need to wait before having sex: FALSE
Masterson said, "A lot of women who want elective C-section, (I say) no, that doesn't get you out of the sex prescription. Not only have you had surgery, but your whole physiology has changed to support that baby for ten months. So you have to let your body heal."

After childbirth, women may experience pain during sex: TRUE
"If you pass an eight or ten pound ball out there, I think you might have some pain. So, yes, you have to let the body heal. But there's lots of things that we coach our mommies to do to get back in the game so to speak."

After giving birth, most women will have a decreased sex drive: TRUE
Masterson said, "Those hormones that are around, especially when you're breastfeeding, they can sort of suppress that drive. It's sort of nature's way saying, 'You already had one, you need to wait a little while.'"

A woman will never have the same sexual satisfaction she had before giving birth: FALSE
Masterson explained, "It just takes time. You have to let the body heal, and you have to remember to become a couple again. Don't forget about the daddy. You have to be a couple, not just a family. And that is so huge. And you start with cuddling, go slow."

A woman cannot become pregnant while she is breastfeeding: FALSE
"That is a huge, huge myth, and that's really close babies and siblings get born," Masterson said. "And that's why we have the six-week appointment. Before we free you up to have sex again or give you the prescription to your husband saying no, basically we go over contraception. And that is key because there are a lot, so many moms who think that's protective over contraception. So absolutely a myth."

[amerilatino]

In Latinamerica, there used to be a practice called cuarentena (quarantine) in which a woman would abstain from any type of sex or exertion for forty days, after which she could do as she pleased, health permitting. It seems to have had a point, as my grandmothers and great aunts had several children each and were notorious for their tirelessness and stamina, and they were gorgeous, healthy women from the looks of the old family pictures of them, but then again, early 20th century plantation eating habits and lifestyle were not what they are today, either.

[I_am_me1953]

"A woman cannot become pregnant while she is breastfeeding: FALSE"



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Yeppers, my ex and I disproved this one almost 30 years ago. Le Leche League is full of crap, and they tried to tell me we must have done something "wrong". Yes, we did, we listened to them.


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"Women who give birth by C-section do not need to wait before having sex: FALSE"


After my ex's c-section her ob-gyn saw me walking in the halls of the hospital (her ob-gyn and I were acquaintances) and her ob-gyn told me "I know you two have never waited before, but it is really important that you wait six weeks after this c-section so she doesn't have serious complications". Seemed like an eternity.

[mdaley--2008]

"A woman will never have the same sexual satisfaction she had before giving birth: FALSE"

What a bunch of crap. when a narrow flesh canal gets completely roto-rooted like that, it is NEVER the same again. Get real, lady. Sometimes satisfaction is BETTER after childbirth, sometimes the same, sometimes not as good. One thing's for CERTAIN. It's never going to be the same again. Ask any mother, or her husband!

And like Undercover said, STOP portraying men as thoughtless sexual predators! On the contrary, after our baby was born, it was my WIFE who turned into a horn dog, NOT me.

Get a clue, "Doctor".

[I_am_me1953]

"when a narrow flesh canal gets completely roto-rooted like that, it is NEVER the same again."

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You must have the "teenie weenie syndrome", for those of us with the root, after the doc puts the stitches in there, well...

[voxpopulus]

"and that's really close babies and siblings get born"

This article is almost incomprehensible. Don't you have sub editors?

[rwsmith29456]

Sorry, but I have to shout! THEY USE THAT SAME STUPID PICTURE OF FEET UNDER THE SHEETS FOR EVERY ARTICLE ON SEX THAT THEY PUBLISH! Lord, I'm sick of it.

[rf35]

Yeah, I noticed that too. Time to hunt down some new stock photos.

[UndercoverJ7]

I'm a little bummed to see that the immediate stereotype of thinking the husband is automatically the one more ancy than the mom to have sex again is utilized in this discussion. I know plenty of moms that were hot to trot but wanted to play it safe just to be cautious, with husbands that suggested that they give it a teeny bit more time "just in case" even though their wives were good to go. I wish that reality had been included in the phraseology of this overview.