How long after pregnancy?

[kristyau]

It seems the only people I know who are QF all believe you are meant to follow the OT law of waiting a certain number of days after birth before resuming sex again. I can never wait that long, for me it has always been the day after leaving hospital (I won't go into the ins and outs of that one TMI sorry).

What are other's thoughts on this???

 

[Sabertooth]

Opinions differ on this question, but this is where I am at:

I believe that the health & hygiene codes of the OT do not have moral & ethical consequences, but many (if not all) have physical (health & hygienic) consequences.

Jesus said about hand-washing (in Matt. 15:11 & Mark 7:15-20) that it isn't what goes into one's mouth that makes them unclean, but rather what comes out of it.

On the other "hand," the Jews were spared from the Black Plague because they washed their hands regularly. So, that turned out to be a really good idea.

IIRC, a teacher by the name of Bill Gothard had reported that some couples he had (worked with?) reported that when they had sex on her period, they noticed a higher incidence of yeast infections. And (male) circumcision, arguably, has been shown to be the healthier choice. Paul was clear that it wasn't a (spiritual) requirement (for Gentiles, at least), but it isn't forbidden either. I believe this to apply to the dietary codes, as well, which are clearly limited to the Hebrew(?) community. But when a nation has God functioning as their health department, the rest of us would do well to take good notes.

For me, all of this would fall under the category of:

"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. 1Cor. 10:23

 

[jgonz]

Medically speaking, you should wait until you've stopped bleeding before having sex. The cervix is still open after childbirth and needs to have time to close up and get back to normal. Sabertooth is correct~ studies have proven that women who have sex during their periods and while still bleeding after childbirth have a much higher incidence of all sorts of infections (not just yeast, but also uterine infections, which can cause scar tissue, which can lead to miscarriages). It's just better to wait.

As far as the OT Instructions are concerned, I honestly believe that God had all sorts of good reasons for requiring good hygene, mikvahs (immersions), washings, food instructions, etc. for people's health. I believe that All of us can benefit from paying attention to God's Instructions for His people (whether we're born Jewish/Hebrew heritage or grafted in through salvation).

 

[svl3p]

with my son i tore a lot so waited the whole 6 weeks (then dh wouldn't let me wait longer..but that's another story)i'd stopped bleeding just barely...with my daughter it went fine and i think we only waited 4-5 weeks...i don't remember exactly..but then my bleeding started up again and it went from light period to spotting to stopped and over and over again for almost 3 months total, so there wasnt much action in that time

 

[kristyau]

Thanks guys. I didn't realise you can get infections that way. When hubby and I first married, I had endometriosis so bad that I bled for 8 weeks then had 2 weeks off - that was my cycle until I got pregnant. So we worked out ways to be intimate during the bleeding. Sorry if TMI! So when it came to bleeding after birth, it wasn't an issue for us. But now that I know it can cause infections, I'm sure we could hold off