The period after giving birth, also known as puerperium, is marked by a number of
changes that may cause physical, emotional and social alterations, which can affect the
woman‟s sexual need, their relationship with a partner and their mood. The objectives
of this research were to check if a relation between sexual function and marital
satisfaction existed, as well as to examine what other factors are related to sexual
function and marital satisfaction. To achieve these objectives, 192 women on remote
puerperium, aged from 18 to 43 years old responded to four evaluations: 1)
Socioeconomic questionnaire; 2) Female Sexual Function Index; 3) Love Scale of
Marriage and Relationship Questionnaire (MARQ); 4) Beck Depression Inventory. The
results showed that 42.7% of the women presented values indicative of sexual
dysfunction. The factors that contributed to the sexual dysfunction were breastfeeding
and depressive symptoms. 70.4% of the participants were moderately satisfied with
their relationship. Marital satisfaction was related with higher income and a higher level
of education. A weak correlation was found between sexual function and marital
satisfaction, indicating that the causes that contribute to the marital satisfaction may
vary according with the stage of the relationship. When the couple has no child, the
satisfaction is more focused in sexual pleasure, since reproduction is important to the
perpetuation of the species. However, many studies have shown that after the birth of a
child physiological changes occur, in both women and men, which causes sex to be less
important and causes the couple to turn their attention to caring for their offspring.
|
