Are vaginal infections or vaginal burning common after delivery?
The hormones of pregnancy, high estrogen and progesterone, decline rapidly after delivery. The result is an almost menopausal state with respect to vaginal lubrication. The condition is called vaginal atrophy with a rise in the pH of the vagina and a shift away from superficial vaginal cells that lubricate the vagina and provide protection from irritation. This change also takes place on the outside of the vulva and is subject to any irritation from soaps, rubbing, or contact with chemicals in pads, condoms, lotions or other topically applied agents. To answer your questions about whether baths can cause vaginitis or urinary tract infections (UTIs) in the postpartum time period, the answer is that they can produce SYMPTOMS of UTIs or vaginitis, i.e., pain with urination, frequency, vulvar burning, but they are NOT thought to produce actual infections. They produce symptoms if soaps or bath oils are used that irritate the already very thin, sensitive skin in those areas around the vagin
