Demographic and obstetric factors affecting women’s sexual functioning during pregnancy

BACKGROUND Sexual desire and frequency of sexual relationships during pregnancy remains challenging. This study aimed to assess factors that affect women's sexual functioning during pregnancy. METHODS This was a cross sectional study carried out at prenatal care clinics of public health services in Iran. An author-designed structured questionnaire including items on socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric history, the current pregnancy, and women's sexual functioning during pregnancy was used to collect data. The generalized linear model was performed in order to find out factors that affect women's sexual functioning during pregnancy. RESULTS In all, 518 pregnant women participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 26.4 years (SD = 4.7). Overall 309 women (59.7%) scored less than mean on sexual functioning. The results obtained from generalized linear model demonstrated that that lower education, unwanted pregnancy, earlier stage of pregnancy, older age, and longer duration of marriage were the most important factors contributing to disturbed sexual functioning among couples. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that sexual function during pregnancy might be disturbed due to several factors. Indeed issues on sexual relationship should be included as part of prenatal care and reproductive health programs for every woman.