How normal is it to have postpartum bleeding return after having sex?

A pregnancy is one of the most unique and beautiful experiences a woman can go through during her lifetime and giving birth to a child is a process of the human cycle like no other. However, inspite of all the great things being said about the entire process – it can be a significantly heavy burden on the woman during the entire pregnancy cycle. Sometimes the only thing that pulls the expectant mother through the entire process is the knowledge that at the end of the cycle, she will be able to look into her own child’s eyes. The changes, physical, emotional and hormonal are substantial and can cause a number of appearance as well as behavioral changes in the woman – sometimes very different attitudes within a very short period of time. Postpartum bleeding is a very natural occurrence and is important parts of the entire cycle – helping your body get rid of a number of now unrequired substances that have built up over the course of the pregnancy.

The entire cycle of postpartum bleeding will last for a period of between 4 to 6 weeks – substantially heavy in the beginning, but starting to thin out towards the end when the waste products become increasingly diluted. Medically termed as lochia, postpartum bleeding is the removal of leftover blood, mucus and tissue that was present within the uterus that is no longer required once the delivery has been successful. Most of these products were present around the site where the placenta was attached to the uterine wall. There are some complications that may arise at this time and if you were to notice a substantially heavy flow during this time, it is best advised that you visit your gynecologist in order to have a more detailed physical inspection done to make sure that everything is in order.

Because the entire postpartum bleeding phase is actually your body healing internally, it would be best to wait for a minimum of six weeks before you indulge in sexual intercourse and allow your body the time it requires before it needs to go through such strenuous physical activity. Some women that have indulged in sexual activity before the period of about 6 weeks because the bleeding seemed to have stopped by the fourth week may experience a reoccurrence of the bleeding. This is only natural because the body has not been allowed the required timeline to heal properly. However, the bleeding, although substantial, is only temporary and will come under control in a few days.

Submitted by P T on March 24, 2010 at 12:53

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