Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction among Expectant Women

A prospective study with 225 expectant mothers seen in the prenatal clinic of a federal university. Sexual function was evaluated by means of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and all domains were analyzed (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain). Initially, a univariate analysis of the sample was done. The averages for each domain according to the risk of sexual dysfunction (FSFI ≤ 26.5) were compared using the Student’s t-test for independent samples. The strength of the correlation between sexual dysfunction and all sociodemographic, clinical and behavioral variables was measured by the Chi-Square (X2) test. Then, odds ratios (ORs) and their confidence intervals were assigned to perform a bivariate analysis. Any p values less than 0.05 were considered significant.

Results

Approximately two-thirds of the women (66.7%) showed signs of risk of sexual dysfunction (FSFI ≤ 26.5). Within these cases, all sexual dysfunction domains (desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain) were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.001). The domains most affected were desire (2.67), satisfaction (2.71) and arousal (2.78).

Conclusions

Pregnancy appears to be an important causative factor of sexual dysfunction among pregnant women.

Keywords:
women; pregnancy; sexuality; arousal; orgasm

Variable	FSFI (positive)		FSFI (negative)		FSFI reference = 26.5
Variable	n	%	n	%	χ²	OR	p	CI
Age (years)
≤ 27	72	63.7	41	36.3	0.642	0.915	0.423	0.760–1.101
≥ 28	78	69.6	34	30.4	0.642	0.915	0.423	0.760–1.101
Schooling
Up to High School	139	66.8	69	33.2	0.000	1.033	1.000	0.718–1.486
College	11	64.7	6	33.3	0.000	1.033	1.000	0.718–1.486
Marital Status
Cohabitated	76	61.3	48	38.7	3.074	0.837	0.080	0.697–1.004
Others	74	73.3	27	26.7	3.074	0.837	0.080	0.697–1.004
Ethnic group
Caucasian	63	67.7	30	32.3	0.021	1.028	0.886	0.853–1.238
Non-Caucasian	87	65.9	45	34.1	0.021	1.028	0.886	0.853–1.238
Number of children
0 to 1	109	65.7	57	34.3	0.141	0.945	0.708	0.772–1.156
≥ 2	41	69.5	18	30.5	0.141	0.945	0.708	0.772–1.156
Menarche age (years)
≤ 12	75	64.7	41	35.3	0.783	0.909	0.376	0.758–1.090
≥ 13	74	71.2	30	28.8	0.783	0.909	0.376	0.758–1.090
Age at first sexual intercourse (years)
≤ 16	84	70.0	36	30.0	0.101	1.044	0.751	0.869–1.255
≥ 17	63	67.0	31	33.0	0.101	1.044	0.751	0.869–1.255
VV (6 months)
Yes	13	48.1	14	51.9	3.835	0.696	0.050	0.465–1.041
No	137	69.2	61	30.8	3.835	0.696	0.050	0.465–1.041
STDs partner
Yes	3	60.0	2	40.0	0.000	0.898	1.000	0.436–1.848
No	147	66.8	73	33.2	0.000	0.898	1.000	0.436–1.848
Partners
> 4 partners	1	50.0	1	50.0	0.000	0.748	1.000	0.187–3.001
3–4 partners	149	66.8	74	33.2	0.000	0.748	1.000	0.187–3.001

FSFI Domain	Risk of sexual dysfunction (≤ 26.5)		p*
FSFI Domain	Positive (average ± SD)	Negative (average ± SD)	p*
Desire	2.67 ± 0.92	4.53 ± 0.84	< 0.001
Arousal	2.78 ± 1.18	5.06 ± 0.70	< 0.001
Lubrication	2.99 ± 1.32	5.37 ± 0.62	< 0.001
Orgasm	3.05 ± 1.45	5.43 ± 0.53	< 0.001
Satisfaction	2.71 ± 1.67	5.50 ± 0.59	< 0.001
Pain	2.85 ± 1.18	4.79 ± 0.91	< 0.001

Federação Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia Av. Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 3421, sala 903 - Jardim Paulista, 01401-001 São Paulo SP - Brasil, Tel. (55 11) 5573-4919 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
E-mail: editorial.office@febrasgo.org.br

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[1] Address for correspondence Ana Katherine Gonçalves, PhD, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, UFRN, Rua Major Laurentino de Morais 1218/1301, Natal, RN 59020-390, Brazil (e-mail: anakatherine@ufrnet.br; anakatherine_ufrnet@yahoo.com.br).