Pain during sexual intercourse – dyspareunia – is usually very present and normalized in the lives of postpartum women. Here, we explain how they can protect the pelvic floor to prevent dyspareunia.

There are many factors, such as scars from episiotomies or tears, hormonal imbalance that promotes vaginal dryness, excess tone and stiffness of the pelvic floor muscles, or the continuous state of alarm in which a postpartum mother finds herself, which makes this pain so present and so difficult to eliminate.

In this case, it is essential to treat each woman individually because sexuality is a very unknown world in which each woman has her own tastes and needs. Even so, here are some tips that can be of help to reduce this pain:

• Reconnecting with and re-discovering your own body is the first step to improving pain (look at your genitals with the help of a mirror, touch them and explore what generates discomfort or pleasure, accept the new reality and the different changes that may appear in your body over the years).
• Take care and nurture the vulva and vagina (moisturize the area with specific moisturizers for the intimate area, it is always better that a professional advises them to reduce the feeling of vaginal dryness).
• If you have a partner, communication is essential. Not all sex is based on penetration, and it is important that the partner can be the woman’s safe place, especially at this time when, for many reasons, the woman is in a vulnerable phase).
• Use good quality lubricants (not all commercial brands are good quality).
• Practice deep breathing. These can help to reduce the state of alertness in which you find yourself and thus improve some of the symptoms that cause pain during intercourse and sex.
• Use vibration as an ally; vibrators are not only something for sexual pleasure. They are a great ally for women who have pain during intercourse. Applying continuous vibration can help improving the excess tension of the muscles and improve the state of episiotomy and birth tear scars.

These recommendations should be combined with an assessment by a professional expert in pelvic floor physiotherapy.