Sex after baby, does breastfeeding make a difference?
January
02 ,
2010
Our twitter following has requested that I tackle the topic of libido and breastfeeding. Once again, this is such a multifaceted and complicated topic and I had to spend a few days thinking about how I would respond to this request. I decided to fall back on a tried and true method. What would I do if my blog followers were my patients, and they asked me the big question. "Why is my sex drive so much less now than it was when I was pregnant and before then? When I stop breastfeeding, will it get better?"
First, let's look at the evidence, is this even true? Does breastfeeding lower a woman's libido? Or maybe hers is no worse than anyone's after having a baby, after all, it is no secret that many women lose interest in sex at least for some time after having a baby?
Well, it seems that breastfeeding just might have an effect on libido. According to the studies that have been done (as always you can ask me if you want the sources) a woman's interest in sexual relations usually changes after childbirth, approximately 57% of women interviewed at three months postpartum note a decreased interest, while only 10% note an increased interest in sex. However, despite these changes in libido, more than 80 percent of women resume having sex by six weeks postpartum.
Now we can spend a long time discussing the potential reasons for this. Exhaustion, physical discomfort (especially when she had a traumatic delivery), hormonal changes, body image, her partner's decreased interest and so on. But I would like to focus on the possible influence of breastfeeding.
According to one study, a postpartum questionnaire found that breastfeeding mothers were a little more than twice as likely to report decreased interest in intercourse eight weeks postpartum than non-breastfeeding mothers. There was no evidence that lower libido persisted long-term, and in the long haul the levels of interest in sex were the same.
So why might this be? Several possible explanations have been put forward, and I will mention two of the major ones.
The first is that the hormone progesterone is a dominant hormone in women that are breastfeeding. It may be that when progesterone is dominant over estrogen that the libido is decreased.
The second possibility that has been proposed is that when progesterone is dominant, there is an increase in vaginal dryness, and decrease in the growth of the lining of the vagina, making it uncomfortable to have sex, and less pleasurable.
Both of these are biochemical explanations, but there are psychological explanations as well. I won't dwell on these, because there have been many, and I'm not sure if I can pick out which explanations make the most sense to me.
In order to improve the vaginal symptoms, estrogen creams can be effectively used, and they are safe to use in breastfeeding Moms. This can help with the vaginal dryness and discomfort. However, to correct the blood progesterone levels with hormones taken by mouth is generally not a great idea, and has never been shown to help improve libido.
Does this mean that breastfeeding will ruin your sex life? Not really. First of all, remember that not all women will have decreased libido, and many of those that do, would have had decreased interest in sex even if they hadn't decided to breastfeed.
If you are one the women who have decreased interest in sex because of breastfeeding, remember that it is only temporary, and things will return back to normal with time. Even before you stop breastfeeding, your libido will improve as the birth of your baby recedes farther into the past. By six months things have improved for almost everyone. Speak to your doctor to discuss if there may be things you can do to help (such as vaginal creams).
Above all, be patient, things will come back. The evidence is very clear that men and women in stable and loving relationships tend to have better satisfaction from their sex lives as they remain committed over time.
I am very interested to hear your ideas and experiences with your sex lives when you were breastfeeding, please share these stories with us so that we can all learn.
