A Quebec City couple is suing a gynecologist for $225,000, claiming post-delivery surgery left the woman's vagina too tight to have sex.

The woman was admitted to CHUL hospital in September 2010 and gave birth to a boy.

The suit says Dr. Guy Bolduc had performed an episiotomy, a common procedure in which an incision is made below the vagina to facilitate delivery.

The doctor noted an internal vaginal tear after the baby was born, and performed surgery to repair the problem, says the suit.

He then advised his patient to avoid sex for six weeks.

The new mother says she followed the recommendations but that a follow-up exam by a second doctor a month later found the stitches had come apart.

The plaintiff and her husband tried to have sex for the first time in December 2010, which proved impossible because of the pain, says the lawsuit.

The plaintiff returned to the second doctor who found "a fairly rigid strip of scarring and narrowing of the vagina preventing penetration."

She was given two options: reconstructive surgery or daily vaginal dilation exercises.

The woman said she chose the latter option, but claims in court documents that sex was still painful by the fall of 2011 and that she still had a significant narrowing.

The woman is suing Dr. Bolduc for physical harm, pain, stress, frustration and loss of enjoyment of life.

Her husband is asking for $75,000 in damages for pain and suffering.