Method of Childbirth Not Tied to Later Sexual Well-Being

FRIDAY, Aug. 26, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- There is no association between cesarean section and subsequent sexual enjoyment or frequency, according to a study published online July 20 in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

Florence Z. Martin, from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and colleagues used data from participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children to assess the relationship between mode of delivery and subsequent maternal sexual well-being. Sexual enjoyment and frequency were measured at four time points between 33 months and 18 years postpartum.

The researchers observed no association between mode of delivery and sexual enjoyment (adjusted odds ratio, 1.11 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.97 to 1.27] at 33 months) or sexual frequency (adjusted odds ratio, 0.99 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.12] at 33 months). There were increased odds of pain in the vagina during sex seen at 11 years postpartum for cesarean section versus vaginal delivery (adjusted odds ratio, 1.74; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.46 to 2.08).

"Although these findings will not affect obstetric decision making during labor, they may aid in destigmatizing sex-related pain experienced by women having delivered via cesarean section and open the dialogue with their clinician regarding dyspareunia after delivery," the authors write.

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