Sexual Function and Quality of Life Among Postpartum Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: Sexual function plays an important role in strengthening the marital relationship. Sexual issues affect individuals' quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the association between the sexual function and the quality of life among postpartum women in Iran. Materials and Methods: For this cross-sectional descriptive study, 380 postpartum women who had referred to 10 urban health care centers in the west of Iran were chosen. They were recruited using the randomized cluster sampling method. A checklist for socio-individual and maternal status of women, female sexual function index (FSFI) and SF-36 questionnaire were used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis via SPSS software. Results: Most of the participants (76.3%) suffered from sexual dysfunction. Sexual desire was the most prevalent sexual dysfunction (79%). Moreover, the majority of the women achieved moderate scores in the subscales of the SF-36 questionnaire. The women with higher FSFI scores achieved higher scores in all SF-36 subscales. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed an appositive statistically significant linear correlation between the women's general health and all dimensions of the FSFI except for pain during sexual relationships. The logistic regression analysis revealed that sexual function was a protective factor against the reduction of the quality of life, because quality of life was higher among the women with a higher level of sexual function compared to those with a lower sexual function (P <0.05). Conclusions: Sexual dysfunction in the postpartum period could adversely affect the women's quality of life. While sexual problems are very common in the postpartum period, they are not reported in most cases. Health care providers should design appropriate programs such as extended postpartum counseling for the women in the postpartum period.