Senior Physician Specialist, Dr Aba Folson, has debunked the assertion that ladies cannot have sexual intercourse after childbirth until the baby is six-months-old.
According to her, the only time health professionals give advice that women should wait for a period of time before engaging in sexual intercourse after giving birth is when they could not deliver naturally and had to undergo surgery.
“During caesarean sections, you have penetration through the abdominal wall and the uterus which creates a wound; so that wound is supposed to heal, and if you do not restrain from activities or gymnastics that will put pressure on it, the wound will not heal properly and in some instances become more serious.
“In order not to trigger a situation like that, medical professionals advise the women to avoid all stressful activities, including sexual intercourse, for about six weeks or so then you can gradually start all those gymnastics; but when in a situation where the woman was delivered naturally, after a week or two it is appropriate to have sexual intercourse,” she said.
Dr Folson said this on the eighth episode of Vodafone Healthline series aired on various channels in the country.
General Practitioner, Dr Kwekuma Yalley, adding his voice noted that pregnancy is sometimes complicated and women go through struggle to ensure the safety of the baby, especially first-time mothers.
As such, they sometimes feel reluctant to engage in sexual activities soon after birth; therefore, the male partner must put forth a supporting hand to release the new mother from some of her duties – offering her space to relax and put herself in the mood for any sexual activity.
“To refrain from sex for six months after birth due to medical reasons is rare, and so other factors that are not making sex appealing to her must be considered and dealt with appropriately.
“If the baby is giving her so much stress, the man can come in and help her handle the baby. Ultimately, if it is a vaginal delivery, as soon as the woman is ready the couple can have sex even after just one week without facing any future health complications,” he said.
Subsequently, the host of Vodafone Healthline, Frema Asiedu, revealed that it is a policy in some private health facilities that first-time mothers must undergo episiotomy unless the person is willing to undergo a caesarean section.
Commenting on this, Dr Yalley advised pregnant women, who visit facilities with such policies, to reject and question the basis on which they want to perform an episiotomy without any crucial medical grounds.