A study examining women’s sexual function in twelve months postpartum

The postpartum period has physical, psychological, and social effects on women’s health, two of which include sexual function and dysfunction. The aim of this study was to identify women’s sexual function in twelve months postpartum. This descriptive study was conducted between January and May 2018 at the Well-Child Outpatient Service at Giresun University’s Women’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Training and Research Hospital. The sample of the study consisted of all women who applied to the clinic and who met the inclusion criteria. The research population consisted of 236 women with 0 to 12 month-old children. The ‘Identification Features Specification Form’ and ‘Turkish Version of the Sexual Distress Scale-Revised (Tr-FSDS-R)’ were used in order to collect data. The Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, as well as Spearman correlation analysis were used in the analyses because the data did not show any normal distribution features. The age average of the participants was 28.68 ± 5.43. The mean Tr-FSDS-R score was determined as 7.50 ± 9.45 (min0- max52). SD was found in 24.6% (n:59) of women when the cut point of the scale (>11.5) was taken into consideration. A positive weak correlation was seen between the mean Tr-FSDS-R score of women and the average of marital year points. The mean Tr-FSDS-R score significantly differed depending on the time of sexual intercourse (z: -2.61, p:0.009), the use of contraception (z:-2.20, p:0.028), and current sexual activeness (x2:64.798, p:0.000) (p

PDF

___

World Health Organisation (WHO). Defining sexual health 2010. Available from: http://www. who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/sexual_health/sh_definitions/en/.

Aslan E, Beji NK, Gungor I, et al. Prevalence and risk factors for low sexual function in women: a study of 1,009 women in an outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Istanbul. J Sex Med. 2008;5:2044-52.

DeRogatis LR, Rosen R, Leiblum S, et al. The Female Sexual Distress Scale (FSDS): Initial validation of a standardized scale for assessment of sexually related personal distress in women. J Sex Marital Ther. 2002;28:317-30.

Erenel AS, Kitis Y. Kadın cinsel fonksiyonunun belirlenmesine yönelik bir çalışma. Turkiye Klinikleri. 2011;21:251-9.

Golbasi Z, Erenel AS, Turan Z. Gebelikten koruyucu yöntem kullanan kadınlarda cinsel fonksiyon bozukluğunun belirlenmesi. Gazi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi. 2017;1:9-17.

Leeman LM, Rogers RG. Sex after childbirth: postpartum sexual function. Obstet Gynecol. 2012;119:647-55.

Yee LM, Kaimal AJ, Nakagawa S, et al. Predictors of postpartum sexual activity and function in a diverse population of women. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2013;58:654-61.

Burri A, Spector T. Recent and lifelong sexual dysfunction in a female uk population sample: prevalence and risk factors. J Sex Med. 2011;8:2420-30.

Kitis Y, Erenel AS, Gürcüoğlu AE. Kadın cinsel sıkıntı ölçeği (female sexual distresss scale-revised): Türkçe’de geçerlik ve güvenirliği. I.Uluslarası ve II.Ulusal Kadın Hastalıkları ve Ana Çocuk Sağlığı Kongresi. 2016;7-8 Ekim, İzmir, Türkiye.

Pauls RN, Occhino JA, Dryfhout VL. Effects of pregnancy on female sexual function and body image: a prospective study. J Sex Med. 2008;5:1915-22.

Trutnovsky G, Haas J, Lang PE. Women’s perception of sexuality during pregnancy and after birth. Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2006;46:282-7.

Barrett G, Pendry E, Peacock J, et al. Women’s sexual health after childbirth. BJOG. 2000;107:186–95.

Sahin N. Kadınlarda postpartum dönemde cinsel yaşam. Zeynep Kamil Tıp Bülteni. 2009;40:125-30.

Hacettepe Üniversitesi Nüfus Etütleri Enstitüsü, “2013 Türkiye Nüfus ve Sağlık Araştırması”. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Nüfus Etütleri Enstitüsü. T.C. Kalkınma Bakanlığı and TÜBİTAK. 2014;75-94.

Sok C, Sanders JN, Saltzman HM, et al. Sexual behavior, satisfaction, and contraceptive use among postpartum women. J. Midwifery Womens Health. 2016;61:158-65.

McDonald EA, Brown SJ. Does method of birth make a difference to when women resume sex after childbirth? BJOG. 2013;120:823-30.

Desgre ́es-du-Louˆ A, Brou H. Resumption of sexual relations following childbirth: norms, practices and reproductive health ıssues in abidjan, coˆ te d’ıvoire. Reproductive Health Matters. 2005;13:155-63.

Lee JT, Tsai JL, Tsou TS, et al. Effectiveness of a theory-based postpartum sexual health education program on women’s contraceptive use: a randomized controlled trial. Contraception. 2011;84:48-56.

Lopez LM, Hiller JE, Grimes DA, et al. Education for contraceptive use by women after childbirth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2010;20:CD001863.

Labbok MH. Postpartum sexuality and the lactational amenorrhea method for contraception. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2015;58:915-27.