Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the sexual health experiences of depressed and nondepressed postnatal women within a 6-month postnatal period.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study used obstetric records and postal survey 6 months after delivery from a cohort of primiparous women (n = 796) delivering a live-born infant at St. George's NHS Trust, London. Women self-reported sexual problems and sexual behaviors and completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.
RESULTS: Of the 796 parturients, 484 responded (61%), and 468 completed the survey questions on depression and sexual health (97%). Of the latter, 57 (12%) fit the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale criteria. Comparing the depressed with nondepressed women, resumption of sexual activity occurred with 77% versus 90% (P =.003), and the median number of specific sexual problems reported was two versus one, respectively (P =.009).
CONCLUSION: Sexual health problems were common after childbirth in both depressed and nondepressed women; however, depressed women were less likely to have resumed intercourse at 6 months and more likely to report sexual health problems. Given the frequency of sexual health problems, postnatal sexual morbidity cannot be assumed to be simply a product of the depressed mental state.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1318-1325 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Obstetrics and Gynecology |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2003 |
Keywords
- FECAL INCONTINENCE
- VAGINAL DELIVERY
- PREGNANCY
- POSTPARTUM
- PREVALENCE
- MORBIDITY
- COMMUNITY
- BEHAVIOR
- PARITY
- SCALE
