How Your Vagina Will React To Postpartum Sex

Real talk: your desire for sex will likely take a nosedive for the first weeks of caring for a newborn. Your body is still healing, and that tiny baby eats up a lot (or probably most) of your time. But, sooner or later, you and your partner will once again have the time and energy for sex. That's why it's a good idea to know about the embarrassing things that happen to your vagina during postpartum sex and how you can work around them.

For starters, your vagina will likely go through a bit of a dry spell during your initial postpartum phase. Thanks to the dramatic dip in estrogen and progesterone levels when you give birth, postpartum vaginal dryness is a common complaint among new moms, as noted in Healthline. And, to make matters worse, breastfeeding may only exacerbate the dryness, as further explained by Healthline. Although you may feel weird about this seeming inability to get excited for sex, this dryness probably has a lot more to do with your hormones than feelings of attraction (something you may need to explain to your partner). Because such dryness can make sex unenjoyable, or downright painful, it's a good idea to use plenty of lube to help smooth out the playing field. You can have fun experimenting to find the right lube for you and your partner, and remember that plenty of people advocate using lube every time you have sex. It's a bonus, not a crutch.

OK, so vaginal dryness isn't all that embarrassing, but something else often is: queefing. (Could it have grosser name? Seriously.) As noted in Women's Health, queefing has exactly zero significance on your health, as it's just some air escaping your vagina. That said, it can be difficult to get into sex goddess mode when your vagina seems determined to make awkward noises at inopportune moments. If you'd like to nix these noises, then you can try pelvic floor yoga to strengthen those muscles. Kegels are another gold standard exercise for the postpartum period.

In the meantime, maintaining a sense of humor is a smart, and maybe even necessary, way to adapt to your changing body. You just brought new life into the world, so cut yourself some slack. In time, you'll adapt to the new normal for your sex life.