I’m a former nurse midwife and have delivered many babies. Most women are feeling back to normal by the 6 week postpartum visit, but some are not. Did your GF go for her PP check? Did her care provider take a look at her perineum? Although most women heal quickly, it can take up to a year for the scar tissue to complete the process of softening and normalizing, but that doesn’t usually cause much in the way of symptoms. Some women have low estrogen levels in the first 3–6 months after having a baby, especially if they’re breast feeding and periods haven’t come back yet. That can lead to thinner vulvar tissues that are more fragile and feel sore and raw with intercourse. In some cases, I have prescribed vaginal estrogen cream to use a couple times a week for a few months and it usually helps. There’s also the possibility of a vaginal infection that needs treating – can she make an apppointment to get checked out? All of this holds true BTW for women who had tears instead of an episiotomy, and the estrogen issue can come up in a woman who didn’t even deliver vaginally.