Many women who resume sex after giving birth find a dryness and soreness they have never experienced before, and conclude that their body has changed permanently or that something is wrong. The explanation is usually far more straightforward, and it is directly connected to breastfeeding.
While breastfeeding, the body produces high levels of prolactin, which suppresses ovarian activity and keeps oestrogen levels low. Oestrogen is the hormone that keeps the vaginal lining thick, elastic and naturally moist. When levels fall, the tissue becomes thinner and produces less lubrication. The result is dryness, stinging or pain during sex — a temporary state tied to this phase of feeding, not permanent damage.
Ask whether you need to be seen
Message us with what you are experiencing and we will tell you whether an examination is worth making, and what the appointment involves.
WhatsAppLINEWhat helps usually starts with the simplest measures. A water-based or silicone lubricant during sex, and a vaginal moisturiser used regularly rather than only at the time of sex, are the two things doctors most often suggest first. Allowing more time at the start genuinely helps too, because the body's response is slower during this period.
If symptoms continue to affect daily life despite those measures, there are other options to discuss with a doctor, including low-dose local vaginal oestrogen, which is absorbed into the bloodstream only minimally and which many doctors consider usable while breastfeeding when assessed individually. Symptoms commonly improve on their own once feeding ends and cycles return, but there is no need to simply wait it out.
See a doctor if dryness or pain is affecting your relationship or daily life, if you bleed during sex, or if pain at a perineal tear or caesarean scar is not improving with time.