TITLE:
Impact of Pregnancy on the Sex Life of Women: State of the Art
AUTHORS:
Liliam Renata Silveira Santiago, Lucia Alves da Silva Lara, Adriana Peterson Mariano Salata Romão, Maria Fernanda Barbirato da Mata Tiezzi, Ana Carolina Japur de Sá Rosa e Silva
KEYWORDS:
Sexual Function; Dysfunction; Sexuality; Pregnancy; Pregnant
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.4 No.5,
May
16,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Introduction: Women’s sexual function is a complex ensemble of
variables that involve physical, emotional, and psychosocial
states. Objective: This review aims
to evaluate the evidence about the sexual behavior of women during pregnancy. Methods: Survey of PubMed for the
period from 1996 to 2011 for prospective, retrospective and case-control studies, randomized clinical trials, meta-analyses
and systematic reviews on the sexual function of women during pregnancy using the
terms “sexual function”, “sexual dysfunction”, “sexuality”, “pregnancy”, and “pregnant woman”. Results: Changes occur in the sexual function of women during pregnancy; however, due to
the heterogeneity of the studies and the incomparability of samples for lack of
pairing for cultural, age, length of relationship and gestational age
variables, and other methodological biases, it is not possible to characterize
the sexual response of pregnant women. Conclusions: The changes observed are not sufficient to characterize sexual behavior during
pregnancy as pathological. It is therefore necessary to standardize the study
groups and the instruments for the assessment of sexual function, to determine
the presence of distress concomitant with changes in sexual function, and to
assess the sexual function of the partner and the impact of changes on the
dyadic relationship before and after the gestational period.