Short answer
Yes. Intercourse between husband and wife is permitted throughout pregnancy, unless a doctor advises against it for the mother's or baby's safety. After the birth they must wait until her postnatal bleeding (nifas) ends. The four schools agree it is allowed, with a small difference over bleeding during pregnancy.
Intercourse during pregnancy is permissible (mubah). Bleeding during pregnancy is not a period in the Hanafi school, so it does not forbid intercourse in itself, but medical advice comes first. Intercourse is haram during nifas, which lasts at most forty days.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Bleeding during pregnancy can count as a period if it meets the conditions, and intercourse is then forbidden while it lasts.
- Maliki
- A pregnant woman can menstruate, so bleeding that counts as a period forbids intercourse while it lasts.
Explanation
Nothing in the Quran or Sunnah forbids a husband and wife from being intimate while she is pregnant. The general permission of 2:223 covers it. The Arabs used to think intercourse with a nursing mother harmed the child, and the Prophet ﷺ said he had considered forbidding it, until he saw that the Romans and Persians did it without harm to their children. Scholars took from this that such matters follow real evidence of harm, which today means medical advice.
Practical points:
- Follow your doctor, especially with bleeding, a history of miscarriage, placenta problems or near the due date.
- Comfort. Choose positions that are comfortable for her. See positions.
- Her wishes. Tiredness, nausea and discomfort are real. A husband should be patient and gentle.
- Ghusl is needed after intercourse as usual. See how to do ghusl.
After the birth, intercourse is forbidden during nifas (2:222). In the Hanafi school nifas has no minimum and a maximum of forty days. If the bleeding stops earlier and she has done ghusl, intercourse is allowed. If it stops before her usual number of days from a previous birth, the Hanafi books say to wait until those days pass. Her recovery and comfort come first in any case.
For other rulings, see rulings for pregnant women and bleeding during pregnancy.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:223
نِسَآؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌۭ لَّكُمْ فَأْتُوا۟ حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ ۖ وَقَدِّمُوا۟ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُم مُّلَٰقُوهُ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٢٢٣﴾
Your wives are a place of sowing of seed for you, so come to your place of cultivation however you wish and put forth [righteousness] for yourselves. And fear Allah and know that you will meet Him. And give good tidings to the believers.
The general permission between spouses.
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:222
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًۭى فَٱعْتَزِلُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فِى ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ ﴿٢٢٢﴾
And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure. And when they have purified themselves, then come to them from where Allah has ordained for you. Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves."
Intercourse waits until postnatal bleeding ends.
Sahih Muslim 1442
Sahih... لقد هممت أن أنهى عن الغيلة ...
"I had intended to forbid intimacy with a nursing wife, until I remembered that the Romans and Persians do it and it does not harm their children."
Intimacy is not forbidden because of unproven fears of harm to a child.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, Bab al-Hayd. Bleeding in pregnancy is istihadah, and nifas lasts at most forty days.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharah, Bab al-Hayd wa al-Istihadah. What is forbidden during hayd and nifas.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.