His and Her Health

Ever since giving birth my husband and I have literally had intercourse once, barely. Penetration is extremely painful. I had a second degree tear and had stitches. The area that was stitched is what is so painful. It feels as if its "tight" and is going to tear from penetration. When I gave birth, I had no pain medication so when I was stitched, the doctor injected lidocaine before the stitches. However, she did not wait very long before stitching and I felt almost everything...needless to say, I squirmed A LOT! I feel as though she did a bad job but didn't think it would cause problems. I feel as though my whole anatomy has changed...I can now see my pelvic bone if I look at my vagina with a mirror. Sex before having my baby was uncomfortable at times and we had to use lubrication always. Not sure whats going on ...any opinions? My poor husband is suffering greatly

davidswife,
First of all, after birth, there can definitely be changes in the way the vagina (anatomy) looks. I am not sure what you mean by saying you can see the pelvic bone; where do you see it.
As for the new pain, it defintitely can be caused by the way the new tissue has laid down; there could be some scar tissue present.
You can try "massaging" this area it can help. Dilators are also used to help penetration be less painful and to stretch some muscles. Finally, you can try to find a pelvic floor physical therapist who can evaluate the pelvic floor muscles and see what is going on here.

Niva

<small>[ 01-22-2009, 04:55 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

If you breast-fed, your also may be experiencing atrophy (thinning of the tissue) because of decreased estrogen. Please ask your obstetrician and ask her to try to find the cause of your pain. If she is unable, seek out the advice of a vulvar specialist.