Intimacy Issues After Baby? We Can Help

Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction

Going through pregnancy changes the structure of your body, so it’s not uncommon for new mothers to notice some differences in how their body reacts during intercourse. However, childbirth does not mean the end of your sex life, and you should be able to return to normal intercourse after having your baby.

What Causes Intimacy Issues After Pregnancy

What is Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction?

Postpartum sexual dysfunction can include a loss of desire to have sex, a lowered sexual response, and experiencing pain with intercourse. Some pain and dysfunction after giving birth are perfectly normal, but some cases are worse than others. Particularly difficult childbirths that require stitches or surgery can also result in a longer physical recovery time and more anxiety around having sex. Many need time to recover physically from postpartum soreness or weakness before having sex. If you find that your postpartum sex life is impeded by pain or other physical issues, we can help.

Related Conditions for Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction

Postpartum sexual dysfunction may be a sign of an underlying pelvic health condition. Speaking with a pelvic pain specialist who uses a multimodal approach to both diagnosis and treatment allows patients to receive the proper treatment sooner.

Intimacy Issues After Baby Are Common

What Causes Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction?

Postpartum sexual dysfunction can be caused by hormonal, emotional, and physical factors. While some of these causes are normal and will resolve over time following childbirth, other causes may need additional attention and treatment.

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    Feeling “touched-out,” meaning overstimulation from holding your baby or breastfeeding all the time

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    Hormonal changes leading to decreased desire and sexual responsiveness

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    Vaginal trauma from childbirth causing pain with intercourse

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    Exhaustion and fatigue may make sex less appealing

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    Weakened pelvic floor muscles from childbirth, resulting in pain with intercourse

Treatment Options for Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction

Once a proper diagnosis has been given, we offer a proprietary office-based procedure to treat the underlying causes of postpartum sexual dysfunction. This treatment consists of a series of pelvic nerve and muscle treatments to directly target the spastic pelvic floor muscles, inflammation in the pelvis, and nerve pain. Depending on the cause of your dysfunction, other modalities may be needed in addition to our treatment. Since postpartum sexual dysfunction can be multifactorial, the most effective treatment option is a multimodal approach that targets many different contributing factors.

Frequently Asked Questions: Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction

Experiencing postpartum sexual dysfunction can be difficult, but our team of pelvic pain specialists will listen to you, validate your experiences and symptoms, and partner with you on your rehabilitation journey.

Everybody is different and so is every pregnancy, so there is not any hard-and-fast timeline to how long after giving birth you should be able to start having sex again. Usually, your doctor will clear you to begin having sex again about 6 weeks after childbirth. Sex earlier than this may not feel good, not only due to trauma caused to the birth canal during birth but also because the body may be depleted of estrogen during these stages.

There are a number of very normal factors that may decrease your desire to have sex in the immediate wake of childbirth. Insomnia, fatigue, or sleep deprivation is another common experience for new mothers that may make sex less likely or appealing. The new responsibilities of parenthood can also limit the time and energy that you’re able to spend on your sex life. It is also perfectly normal for the mother of a newborn who is clinging to her all day to have some aversion to being touched in other ways, particularly if she is breastfeeding the infant.

Overall it’s very important to know that even if you are struggling with sexual dysfunction following giving birth, there is help out there. Talking about intimacy issues, particularly after a pregnancy, can be frightening or embarrassing, but these problems are common and should be openly discussed. You know if something’s wrong – don’t be afraid to talk about it and seek help. Pregnancy and delivery can be taxing on a person’s body and it is important to rehabilitate the muscles and nerves postpartum to regain your sex life.

Postpartum sexual dysfunction may be the result of an underlying pelvic health condition, so seeing a pelvic pain specialist who understands your symptoms will allow you to receive the proper treatment for your condition sooner. Since the cause of postpartum sexual dysfunction can be multifactorial, the most effective treatment option is a multimodal approach that targets many different contributing factors.

First, our providers will ask questions about your medical history and listen to your symptoms to get a full picture of what is going on with you.

Next, an external exam of your hips, abdomen, and posterior sacrum.

Next, your pelvic nerves are evaluated externally with a soft cotton tip.

Next, with your consent, gel is placed on a gloved finger and an internal exam is performed to allow us to evaluate the nerves and muscles within the pelvis.
There is no speculum required as we are evaluating the pelvic floor muscles and nerves, not the organs.

Sometimes patients will need Imaging to help us understand if there is an associated cause of the pelvic nerve and muscle pain and dysfunction found on the exam.

Oftentimes, treatment can be started the same day as there is no downtime. Our patients have been suffering with pelvic pain symptoms for 6+ months. We like to get them on the road to feeling better as soon as we can as the longer the symptoms are present the harder it is for us to resolve them.

We Provide Treatment For Postpartum Sexual Dysfunction

Our pelvic pain specialists are experts in recognizing the symptoms of and diagnosing pelvic pain conditions. With The PRM Protocol, we go further than addressing the symptoms on the surface – we treat the underlying causes of pelvic pain.