Postpartum Sex: When is it Safe to Resume Intercourse After Childbirth?

Question
hi my name is juliana Gonzales im 16 years old and i just had my baby feb.21.2006 a month ago.i stop my postpatum bleeding at 3 weeks after delivery.i had my postpartum checup a week after my delivery.i forgot to ask my doctor when could i start having intercorse.in my school note he put that o needed 6 weeks of recovery to go back to school. on thehospitals postpartum class they told us that we could have start having intercorse after 4 to 6 weeks of delivery.today 4 weeks after my delivery i had intercorse with my husband and he came inside me.a did not hurt or anything but after we were done i clean my self and my private part hurts alittle bit.i started taking my birth control pills 2 days ago if i take my birth control pill later on in the afternoon would it kill thensperm?could somenthing happen to me because i did not wait the 6 weeks?

Answer
You appear to be fine. Normally, we do a postpartum exam at 6 weeks after the delivery of the baby because by then, your body is back to normal. You can start to have sex 4-6 weeks postpartum with no ill effects. Birth control pills work by preventing ovulation, not by killing sperm. YOu should try to take the pills at the same time each day, but the time is not critical as long as you take one each day without missing any. Usually we do not suggest having sex until 14 days after you start the pills, in order to make sure that the pills prevented ovulation. Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you because you did not wait 6 weeks.