While most women recover from childbirth within eight weeks, it can take much longer to feel like your old self again. That's exactly why 46 per cent of women choose to wait longer than the recommended six weeks before having sex after giving birth.
Experts at What to Expect surveyed 478 mums who have given birth and have at least one child up to five-years-old to learn how soon women return to penetrative intercourse as well as non-penetrative sex and masturbation after childbirth.
"The six-week mark is actually pretty arbitrary," said Rebecca Amaru, a board-certified OB/GYN. "The recovery is so variable. This is such an individual experience for women that it's really hard to make rules."
It was found 24 per cent of the mums waited until six weeks postpartum to return to sex, while another 46 per cent waited six months, a year or more before getting back into bed.
Katie Propst, a urogynecologist at the University of South Florida, said: "Every woman's healing is just so individual for so many different reasons. You do want to be cleared by your provider first."
On average, women wait around 10 weeks, with 11 per cent between three and six months, three per cent waited between seven and 12 months, and another two per cent waited a year or longer before returning to penetrative sex.
One mum said: "I got the okay from my doctor to 'celebrate' with my partner after four weeks. My partner was really gentle and perceptive the whole time, which helped."
Another mum added: "I did not want to even think about or do it until seven months after our first was born.
"This time, I'm four weeks postpartum after a C-section and still have severe pain and infection of the incision, so it's a hard 'no' for now."
Nearly a quarter of women experienced painful sex after giving birth — and this symptom lasted for 20 weeks on average.
Pelvic pain and pressure also affect about 1 in 4 mums and usually remained for 14 or 15 weeks.
A What to Expect expert said: "Given the longevity of these symptoms, it isn't a surprise that many postpartum women choose to wait to have sex.
"Beyond pelvic pressure and back pain, women who breastfeed may also experience hormonal changes that lower sex drive and contribute to painful sex.
The study found women wait around nine weeks to have non-penetrative relations with a partner and 13 weeks to masturbate.
"What influences a woman's return to sex is complicated," Dr Propst said. "There's a lot of cultural pressure to return to sex.
"But as with any other time in life, if a woman isn't sexually active and is okay with that, there's no reason to change things."
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