Human sexuality during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Sexual problems and dysfunctions during pregnancy are often led by the anxiety of hurting the fetus. Males are also afraid of hurting a female and females are afraid of insufficient satisfaction of a male partner. Just 12-14% of couples deny sexual problems after the childbirth. The main postpartum risk factor for dyspareunia is the extent of a birth injury. Breastfeeding is linked to a low coital activity, low sexual desires and low sexual satisfaction of females and their partners. Breastfeeding females start with a sexual life later; more often suffer from dyspareunia and indicate a lower satisfaction with the sexual intercourse. Further, episiotomy is associated with a higher prevalence of a postpartum dyspareunia. Low interest of antenatal and postnatal care providers in the issues of sexuality is documented. Lack of relevant information is the common reason for avoiding this topic. 76% of pregnant females would recommend a discussion on sexuality during pregnancy as a topic in an antenatal clinic and almost a half of pregnant women evaluate the information received from health care providers as insufficient (Ref. 48). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.