What you should know about breastfeeding and sex
Breastfeeding has its own effects on a woman’s body, including physical and hormonal changes. Due to these changes, a woman’s sexuality can get affected. Most women experience three distinct changes in their body when they are breastfeeding their baby. These include a feeling of over stimulation, or a feeling that they are being “over touched”. They also notice a decrease in vaginal secretions, and also ejection of milk when they make love with their partner. Due to these reasons, some women experience a decrease in their libido, but this is not the case with every woman. According to research carried out, breastfeeding mothers can show an increased sex drive, while others may show a decrease in their sex drive. However, the factors leading to a decreased libido could be several others along with breastfeeding the baby. No matter how you feel about your sex drive, it is important to keep a bond with your partner.
For both the parents, their attention is diverted towards the new arrival in the family. The mother may feel exhausted or tired after going through a difficult birth and if there are other children to take care of, the responsibility on both parents doubles. This is why most partners feel that taking care of the new born baby definitely seems to take them away from their intimate times together. Since all the energies are diverted towards taking care of the children, partners have less time for each other.
However, no matter how busy they get, men and women always have a strong intimacy for each other. Getting yourself reacquainted to your partner after birth is a good idea. Spending time alone together a few times every week can help rebuild the important relationship which was present before the woman gave birth. The man should also understand that the woman’s body is undergoing several different changes, and he should be patient with the woman and not hurry into having sex. First of all, the couple should wait till the sixth week after birth before having sex. This is important because the woman needs time to heal any stitches, tearing and damage to the vaginal area. Having sex too soon can cause infections and hurt the already damaged and sensitive area. Both partners should wait for the postpartum bleeding to stop and the wound to heal where the placenta separates from the uterus. Usually, by the end of the sixth week, women experience a strong natural sexual desire, which should be a clear indication that she is ready for sex.
After birth, a woman will continue to breast feed her child. Breastfeeding women undergo several physiological changes, including a decrease in vaginal lubrication, even when they are aroused. This is due to the hormonal changes in her body and both partners should understand that experimenting with a lubricant can help.
Milk ejection is also a common problem in nursing women during love making. Women release the hormone oxytocin, to stimulate a let-down reflex. This is the same hormone which is released in women during orgasm and is also known as the love hormone. During love making, the body releases oxytocin, which is why women experience milk ejection. Milk can leak only a few drops or in greater quantities, depending on how full the womans breasts are. This may feel uncomfortable to you or your partner, and using breastfeeding pads under the bra can help reduce milk from being sprayed. Other couples find it actually enjoyable, so it all depends on you and your partners choices. If you have already fed your baby, but your breasts have not emptied out fully, using a good quality manual or electric breast pump like medela pump in style advanced breast pump before making love can help empty the breasts. Trying different sexual positions can also help. For example, the woman on top position is better than the missionary position. Women can also ask their partner not to fondle with their breasts if they are feeling sore or engorged, and they are worried about sudden leakage.
Over stimulation and a feeling of being “over-touched” is another common problem for breastfeeding women during sex. Since they have so much skin contact with the baby throughout the day, the breasts and nipples may feel over touched and sore. The last thing women need during love making is the husband’s mouth on their breasts. Again, to avoid any further pain, the husband can avoid stimulating and touching the woman’s breasts during love making.
Starting your love life again after giving birth just requires a bit of patience and understanding by both partners. Some people think that giving birth to a baby is the end of intimacy between a husband and wife, but this is never the case.
