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- Title
Cesarean Section and Postnatal Sexual Health.
- Authors
Barrett, Geraldine; Peacock, Janet; Victor, Christina R.; Manyonda, Isaac
- Abstract
Background: Cesarean delivery avoids perineal trauma and has therefore often been assumed to protect sexual function after childbirth. We sought to examine this assumption by using data from a study of women's sexual health after childbirth to assess whether women who underwent cesarean section experienced better sexual health in the postnatal period than women with vaginal births. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 796 primiparous women, employing data from obstetric records and a postal survey 6 months after delivery. Results: Any protective effect of cesarean section on sexual function was limited to the early postnatal period (0–3 months), primarily to dyspareunia-related symptoms. At 6 months the differences in dyspareunia-related symptoms, sexual response-related symptoms, and postcoital problems were much reduced or reversed, and none reached statistical significance. Conclusions: Outcomes from this study provide no basis for advocating cesarean section as a way to protect women's sexual function after childbirth. (BIRTH 32:4 December 2005)
- Subjects
CESAREAN section; DELIVERY (Obstetrics); OBSTETRICS; CHILDBIRTH; HEALTH education
- Publication
Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care, 2005, Vol 32, Issue 4, p306
- ISSN
0730-7659
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.0730-7659.2005.00388.x