How Your Sex Drive Changes After Having A Baby

After having a baby, change is just about the only constant in your life. Everything from your schedule, to your body, to your hormones, to your sex drive will look drastically different than before baby. And although the changes are all for a beautiful reason (ie. your new baby,) they can be a lot to handle at once. Learning how your sex drive changes after having a baby can bring clarity to what exactly is (or isn't) happening between the sheets.

Although many women enjoy a higher libido for many months during pregnancy, things may change once your baby arrives. Having a low libido is very normal for postpartum moms for many reasons. According to Parents the combination of loss of sleep, stress, and fluctuating hormones usually mean that sex is less appealing for many women after giving birth.

For breastfeeding moms, the libido may decrease even further due to the smaller amounts of estrogen in their system. According to Belly Belly, that lower estrogen levels mean that your vaginal mucus significantly decreases, and the increase of prolactin (which is necessary for making milk) decreases sex drive further.

According to Baby Center, 20 percent of women reported having little to no desire for sex three months after giving birth. Although a low sex drive is more than likely a temporary part of the postpartum period, Fox News noted the importance of not trying to force yourself to enjoy sex if you're just not ready.

Some women, on the other hand, are ready to jump back into bed once they're given the go-ahead from their doctor. Although sex after baby may be hard to get the hang of at first, if you're feeling frisky and ready to reconnect with your partner after all things baby, don't feel like you need to wait longer than your doctor tells you to.

Like most things in motherhood, there is a wide range of normal when it comes to postpartum hormones and sex drive, so whether you're ready to get it on or sex is the last thing on your mind, know that what you're feeling is normal. If you're concerned about an extremely low sex drive, or postpartum depression contributing to your lack of libido, consulting your doctor for help is always the best option.