Women’s Sexual Health and Function 6 Months after First Delivery
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- Category: Vol. 77, June 2009
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Women’s Sexual Health and Function 6 Months after First Delivery,REHAB M. ABDEL HADY, AMINA S. GONIED and AMANY H. GAD
Abstract
Women's sexuality is intensely personal and individual. Sexuality in the postpartum period is strongly influenced by a woman’s culture, experience before pregnancy, physiology, and her emotional and psychological make-up. The birth constitutes a psychosocial crisis for most couples, and sexual changes occur during the childbearing years. Desirable sexual relationship between the couples is an effective factor in stability, happiness and health of family.
Objective: To evaluate sexual behavior in the postpartum period, such as resumption of sexual intercourse, sexual function score by using FSFI questionnaire, factors associated with sexual intercourse and detects Reasons for not resuming intercourse 6 months postpartum after First Delivery Were investigated.
Study Design: This study was a Cross-sectional descriptive study.
Material and Method: The study was conducted on seventy (70) Healthy postpartum primiparous women, who attended postpartum for, Check up at the family planning clinic affiliated to Tripoli medical center university maternity hospital, or they asked for medical advice or seeking for contraceptive method. Primiparous women were chosen to avoid the con-founding effects of previous births. The sample was selected randomly from scheduled postpartum visits, the inclusion criteria were Ages of 18 and 41 years old, Birth a live infant, at 8weeks to 6 months postpartum, oral a Consent from the Healthy postpartum primiparous women and in the presence of a well trained nurse. All subjects were interviewed by the investigators with a questionnaire about socio-demographic and general characteristic, and Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire (FSFI) to determine their sexual function, Association between route of delivery, Episiotomy, Breast-feeding and resumption of sexual intercourse will be collected. Also Comparison of Female Sexual Function Index FSFI score between vaginal delivery and cesarean section, Com-parison of sexual function among vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery will be collected and Women who had not resumed intercourse were asked to state the main reason.
Results: Twenty-eight cases (40%) of mothers had sexual intercourse during the postpartum period. within the six weeks postpartum period before they attended the family planning clinic. In this group, 43. Women (61.5) had vaginal deliveries and 27 women (38.5%) had cesarean deliveries. No statistically significant difference was demonstrated in terms of route of
delivery (X2 = 0.161, p value = 0.688. Women with episiotomy resumed sexual intercourse more than women without episiot-omy (10), There was no association between route of delivery and sexual function including sexual desire, sexual arousal, sexual lubrication, sexual orgasm, satisfaction, pain, and FSFI score.
Conclusion: The resumption of sexual intercourse At 6 months postpartum, for primiparous women was quite high. However, Route of delivery was associated with resumption of sexual intercourse and female sexual function score. The women with episiotomy resumed sexual intercourse sooner than the women without episiotomy. Sexual demand of the partner is the influential factor to resumption sexual intercourse during the post partum period. Breastfeeding is a significant predictor of delayed resumption of intercourse, followed by mode of delivery, the most common reasons for not resuming intercourse were lack of interest, tiredness, fear of pain, and or according physician instruction. Patients might benefit from open discussion of breastfeeding, sexuality, and contra-ception in the postpartum period.
Recommendation: It is recommended that counseling about Women’s sexual health, sexuality, postpartum depression and contraception after birth should be regular practice in the hospital before discharging mothers. This crucial practice should help to reduce the problems of mothers in the postpar-tum period related to sexual inhibition. Also recommendations for nursing practice and Proposals for future research suggest-ed,Implications for Sexual health promotion and more attention should be given to this aspect of Quality of life (sexuality), especially along the women health life.