Sex in the postnatal period is commonly something that women don’t even want to think about let alone do. Not surprising if you’ve had open abdominal surgery (csection) or pushed a baby out of your vagina.
Hormones can also play a role in lowering libido, and when you’ve had a baby attached to yourself all day the last thing you want is someone else trying to touch you or expecting something from you. Pain or reduced sensation is also a big thing at this time, particularly if you had a tear or episiotomy that is still healing. And that’s before taking into account the massive life transition you just went though and any birth trauma you may have experienced. These factors will make your body respond differently, and often not how we may want them to. It’s quite common to have changes in sensation in the vulva and abdomen which will change how you experience sexual pleasure, but like with everything in the body this will heal and I can help you navigate it.
The most important thing to understand is that your body is responding in the way that it feels it needs to to protect you, and you have to try to work with that. There’s always a reason and it’s up to you to decipher this language and then move from there rather than trying to force a situation that your body is clearly not ready for.
Sex may look different for a while and this is where, as Dr Karen Gurney (psychosexual specialist) says, "it’s important to have a buffet of sex that is not only penis in vagina penetration".
Dr Karen says that even a passionate kiss in the hallway or an embrace with you partner is still a part of sex because these are experiences you will only share with your partner but it’s the communication of these changes that are important in navigating these times.
If you are having any experiences that you aren’t comfortable with i.e. pain with penetration or reduced sensation then physiotherapy can help with that. Helping your brain understand and learn about this new version of yourself is something that can be changed, and physiotherapy can help facilitate that.
Physiotherapy can:
Reduce vaginal pain by reducing the overactive pelvic floor musculature; by helping to describe the role of the pelvic floor musculature in the pain cycle and provide techniques that can be used in the home environment
Improve your awareness and ability to control these muscles with the focus of relaxation through the pelvic floor
Improve ability of the vaginal tissues to stretch; to mobilise muscle and soft tissue, normalize overactive muscles, improve circulation and desensitize areas
Techniques to allow your body to respond accordingly to penetration
So book a session today!
Don’t just live with it!
Book in for a Mummy MOT or a Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Consultation with Sarah