Investigation of the postpartum female sexual dysfunction in breastfeeding women referring to healthcare centers of Bandar Abbas

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Instructor, Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

2 Instructor, Department of Midwifery, Mother and Child Welfare Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 Instructor, Department of Paramedicine, Mother and Child Welfare Research Center, School of Paramedical, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual activity and satisfaction from it is known as one of the most important aspects of human life that is affected by multiple factors such as pregnancy and childbirth. Given the fact that awareness of sexual problems in the postpartum period can be effective in improving quality of care in this period, this study was performed to determine sexual problems of breastfeeding women in Bandar Abbas.
Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out on 130 primipara breastfeeding women referred to Seyed-Alshohada health center of Bandar Abbas, Iran, in 2015. Data collection tools were a form of demographic and obstetric information and Brief Sexual Symptom Checklist (BSSC). To analyze the data, descriptive (frequency and mean) and analytical (logistic) statistics were used in SPSS, version 16. P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The mean number of sexual intercourse during the postpartum period was 1.33±1.09 in a week and the mean time to resumption of the first intercourse was 6.81±2.12 postpartum weeks. Most sexual problems reported by women during the postpartum period were dyspareunia 111 (85.4%), orgasm problem 110 (84.6%), lack of sexual lubrication 107(82.3%), lack of sexual desire 104 (80%), and sexual arousal problem 96 (73.8%). All the sexual problems were more prevalent in the first two months after delivery, which diminished four and six months after delivery (P<0.001).
Conclusion: In general, sexual problems are more frequent in the first two postpartum months, which reduces four and six months after delivery. Because of high prevalence of sexual problems in this period, training programs for empowering midwives to deal with sexual problems of their clients can be an important step towards activating midwives regarding their role in this important portion of their duties.

Keywords

References

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The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility
Volume 19, Issue 35
December 2016
Pages 1-12

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