Determinants of resumption of vaginal intercourse in puerperium period in Ogbomoso: consideration for early use of contraceptives

Abstract

Several studies estimate that the average time to resumption of intercourse ranged from 5 to 8 weeks after delivery. 1-5 Many doctors recommend waiting four to six weeks before resuming sex, to allow the cervix to close, lochia to stop, and tears to heal. 6 In a recently conducted study in Australia, 41% of the women attempted vaginal intercourse by the time they were 6 weeks postpartum, 65% by 8 weeks postpartum, and 78% by 12 weeks postpartum. By the time they had reached 6 months postpartum, 94% of mothers had attempted vaginal sex. However, sexual activities like kissing, cuddling, oral sex and coitus inter-femoris were resumed sooner than vaginal sex. 7 A study of women in Turkey found that 42% resumed sexual intercourse within six weeks of giving birth. 8 American and British studies found that at six weeks, 57% of women had resumed sexual

Early resumption of postpartum sexual intercourse and its associated risk factors among married postpartum women who visited public hospitals of Jimma zone, Southwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

“…Evidence from this study revealed that half of participants 172(53.9%) had resumed sexual intercourse before six weeks (during the unrecommended time) which was almost similar to the study reported from Malaysia, 51.6% [9]. However, this result was higher than earlier reports of most countries like the USA (43%), India (28.3%), Nigeria (27.6%), and Uganda (21, 9%) [12,14,15,16] and Ogbomoso, Nigeria, 40% [17]. And this result was again lower compared to figures reported from Poland (72.8%), Brazil (70%) [18,19], and Addis Ababa 73.4% [5].…”

“…Similarly, this study revealed that the earliest time for sexual intercourse resumption was on week two, this finding is supported by research reported from Kenya [ 20 ], the earliest sexual resumption was week two, the possible reason might be similarity in due sharing some preexisting socio-cultural context where the study was conducted. But earlier than studies reported from Malaysia (7 weeks), Nigeria (8 weeks), and Poland (10 weeks) [ 9 , 17 , 18 ] and these discrepancies might be since postpartum sexuality counseling received from health care providers better than in this study.…”

The Role of Culture in Maintaining Post-Partum Sexual Abstinence of Swazi Women

“…In their understanding, breast milk is made in the blood, so the two mix and the milk becomes weak. Likewise, studies conducted in Abidjan and Nigeria reported similar beliefs that the mother’s breast milk harm the baby’s health if she resumes sexual activities early [7,8]. In addition, the baby develops excessive regurgitation of food if the parents resume sexual intercourse early in the post-partum period.…”

“…Research indicates that often the resumption is prescribed by the needs of the baby, the father, the age of the mother, the marital status, and cultural beliefs [1,5,6]. For instance, the younger the mother, the earlier the resumption of sexual intercourse because young mothers claim that they do not know any rules on sexual abstinence during the post-partum period [7,8,9]. With regards to marital status, married women tend to stick to the culture of abstinence after delivery, as compared with single women [8].…”

<p>Survival Time to Modern Contraceptive Uses from the Resumption of Sexual Intercourse Among Postpartum Women in Ethiopia</p>

“…5 In Nigeria, of the women who had resumed vaginal intercourse during the puerperium, only 12% of them were using contraception. 6 While in Ethiopia, a high number of postpartum women resumed sexual intercourse despite one in ten women resumed without contraceptive use. 7 A sexually active woman after delivery not using an effective contraceptive method increase her vulnerability to unintended pregnancy in the month before her first menstruation, which results in poor maternal and child health outcomes.…”