Soreness and staining after postpartum relations
29 December, 2015
Question:I had a baby six and a half weeks ago and was able to go to the mikvah two nights ago. I was told to limit my bedikot because I was seeing blood when using the bathroom. When I went to my six week appointment last week, the doctor prescribed me estrogen cream because she said I was very dry and tight and it would help me to heal better.
After I had relations with my husband I felt extreme pain and soreness. I knew I was bleeding but didn't actually see anything because I didn't look. I have been wearing colored underwear and not been looking when I use the bathroom. I have been noticing that I have stains on my underwear, but since it's colored I have been ignoring it.
Am I doing the right thing by ignoring the stains or am I niddah?
Answer:Mazal tov on the birth of your baby!
Based on what you write, that you have experienced pain but have not seen any blood aside from stains on colored underwear, you are not considered niddah and need not do anything different. We do, however, recommend that you abstain from relations until the staining subsides, as a precaution against a flow beginning during relations. (Please note that this is a recommendation and not a strict halachic requirement.)
If your pain with intercourse does not improve significantly within two weeks despite the use of the cream, we suggest that you return to your physician for further help and evaluation.
This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional.
For further questions or comments:
The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.
Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.