After the baby is born, how soon can I have sex?

There's no required waiting period before you can have sex after childbirth. But a typical recommendation is to wait to have sex until after you've had a medical appointment with your healthcare professional to check your health following childbirth. That's true for both vaginal deliveries and C-sections.

The risk of developing a health concern related to giving birth is highest during the first two weeks after delivery. But waiting longer than that to have sex gives your body more time to heal. Before you have sex, make sure any vaginal tears have healed and that you're using birth control if you don't want to get pregnant again.

Common symptoms after birth that may make sex difficult or unpleasant right away include:

• Discharge from the vagina.
• Vaginal tears.
• Vaginal dryness.
• Pain.
• Low sexual desire.

If you had a vaginal tear that needed surgery to repair, your healthcare professional might suggest that you have a medical exam to check that the tear has healed before you have sex. Or your care professional may suggest you wait longer to have sex.