When may a man approach his wife after childbirth?
Question: After how many days following the birth of a child may a man approach his wife?
Answer: Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated:
“Women in postnatal bleeding would sit for forty days after childbirth during the time of the Prophet ﷺ.”
Imam al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The scholars are unanimous that women in postnatal bleeding abstain from prayer for forty days, except that if she becomes pure before that, she should perform ghusl and pray.”
It is established that for forty days after the birth of the child, the woman will not pray, and her husband will not have intercourse with her. If the bleeding stops before forty days and she returns to a state of purity (tuhr), she should perform ghusl. After the bleeding has stopped, a man may have intercourse with his wife. The ruling on postnatal bleeding is the same as the ruling on menstruation.
