Sexual Intercourse You may resume sexual intercourse as soon as it is comfortable and all stitches are healed and all discharge stops. This is usually at least 3 or 4 weeks after childbirth. Or you may choose to wait until after the 6-week checkup. Talk to your doctor or nurse about your situation. If you plan to space your children, you should begin using a birth control method before you resume sexual relations.
Spacing children requires a form of birth control.
If you do not plan to have another child soon, some form of birth control is necessary the first time and every time you have sexual intercourse after the birth of your baby. Today, couples may choose from many different forms of birth control. Some are more effective than others. There are artificial methods that work by setting up barriers to prevent the sperm from meeting the egg, and there are natural methods in which you stop having intercourse when the risk of pregnancy is greatest. Some of the artificial methods require a doctor's prescription, others can be bought at the drug store.