The Key To Using Anal Beads After A C-Section

Sex after giving birth can be tricky, but wonderful. Once your doctor gives you the go ahead to resume sexual activity and you're comfortable with postpartum sex, you and your partner may be looking to expand what you do in the bedroom. Whether or not anal play was part of your routine before, it may be on the radar now. Before you try anal sex, however, you might be thinking of using anal beads with your partner. But how soon can you use anal beads after a C-section?

C-section recovery can be very tricky, and you want to make sure that you are healed and no longer feeling pain after giving birth before engaging in any kind of sex. According to Parents, the timeline for recovery after a C-section can vary. Your doctor will likely instruct you not to lift anything heavier than your baby, avoid driving and walking stairs, and you will have to avoid sex, tampons, and douching until after your six-week checkup. Once you are fully healed, however, the aforementioned Parents article noted that you'll be free to have sex.

"Some women may still have pain if they're bumped along the incision, but for the most part the wound is perfectly healed at this point, and you can resume all normal activities" Dr. Shawn Tassone, an OB-GYN and author of the books Hands Off My Belly! and Spiritual Pregnancy, told Parents.

The other thing to consider before incorporating anal beads into your sex life postpartum is whether or not you have hemorrhoids, according to What To Expect.

"Some mothers develop hemorrhoids during pregnancy (and more often than not, during childbirth), so that can inhibit any desire to have anal sex," Eric Marlowe Garrison, sex counselor and internationally best-selling author of Mastering Multiple Position Sex, tells Romper. "If there was an episiotomy or traumatic birth, anal intercourse should be off the table until everything is healed and the integrity of the rectum has returned."

If you're healed after your C-section and feeling confident, however, it may be fine to start using anal beads if you are comfortable. Start with anal beads designed particularly for beginners and remember that the true pleasure of using them comes during orgasm.

"The key to the beads is not necessarily the feeling you feel when they are going in, but rather when you pull them out," Chelsea McCain of Adult Empire explained to Refinery29. "Put them in and slowly pull out during intercourse, masturbation, or right before you’re about to orgasm for a little extra boost."

Make sure you are fully communicating with your partner about your comfort levels and if you start to experience any pain either around your anus or C-section area. Stop if you need to but, if your doctor has cleared you for regular activities and you aren't experiencing discomfort, enjoy the anal play with your partner (or by yourself).