A Comparison of the Sexual Well-Being of New Parents with Community Couples

Abstract

Background Changes in sexual well-being are common for new mothers and their partners after the birth of a baby. However, most research has sampled mothers not couples, assessed only one aspect of sexual well-being, and has not included a control sample of couples. Aim This study aimed to compare the sexual well-being (ie, sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress) of first-time mothers and their partners in the transition to parenthood (first 12-month postpartum) to community couples who are not actively in this transition. We also compared the sexual well-being within couples (eg, mothers to their partners). Methods Couples in the transition to parenthood (n = 99) completed measures of sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress, and sexual frequency at 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum, and community couples (n = 104) completed the measures at a single time point. Outcomes Measures included the following: (i) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale; (ii) Female Sexual Function Index and International Index of Erectile Function sexual desire subscale; (iii) Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised; and (iv) checklist of sexual behaviors. Results Compared with community controls, new parents reported lower sexual satisfaction, lower sexual desire, and higher sexual distress at all time-points; however, these group differences became less pronounced by 12 months postpartum. By 6 months postpartum, there was no difference in sexual frequency between postpartum couples and the control group. Mothers experienced persistently lower sexual desire relative to their partners throughout the 12 months postpartum. Between 39% and 59% of mothers reported clinically low sexual desire, and 47–57% reported significant sexual distress at all time points. There were no significant differences reported in sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, or sexual distress between women and their partners in the community sample. Clinical Implications Clinicians should be aware that sexual well-being may be compromised in new parents, and some of these challenges are still present for new parents at 12 months postpartum. Findings can be used to educate new parents regarding their expectations about postpartum sexual well-being. Strengths & Limitations The strengths of the present study are the dyadic approach, assessing multiple aspects of sexual well-being in new parents over time, and the comparison with a community sample. An important limitation is that the control sample was not followed up over time. Conclusion Education regarding postpartum sexual well-being should be incorporated in routine perinatal and postnatal healthcare practices to support new parents in developing realistic expectations about changes during the transition to parenthood, potentially preventing undue distress.

A Longitudinal Examination of Common Dyadic Coping and Sexual Distress in New Parent Couples during the Transition to Parenthood

“…Consistent with our hypothesis, mothers’ sexual distress improved significantly over time, and by 12‐months postpartum was no longer above the clinical cutoff. This finding is in line with past research, which found less pronounced differences in sexual distress between new parents at 12‐months postpartum and control couples, compared to 3‐months postpartum (Schwenck et al., 2020). The clinical cutoff reflects a score that best distinguishes women with and without sexual dysfunction.…”

“…Although research on postpartum sexual distress specifically is scarce, the few studies in this area suggest that it is indeed prevalent. In a cross‐sectional study, Schwenck, Dawson, Muise, and Rosen (2020) found that new parent couples reported higher sexual distress at each of 3‐, 6‐, and 12‐months postpartum compared to community couples. Further, a recent longitudinal study following 203 new parent couples from mid‐pregnancy to 12‐months postpartum revealed that mothers reported consistently higher sexual distress than their partners over time.…”

Perceived financial burden is indirectly linked to sexual well-being via quality of life among couples seeking medically assisted reproduction

“…Similar to prior studies (Schwenck et al, 2020;Rossi et al, 2022), sexual desire was assessed using two equivalent sexual desire items from either the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF; Rosen et al, 1997) for men (i.e., "Over the past 4 weeks, how often have you felt sexual desire? "; "Over the past 4 weeks, how would you rate your level (degree) of sexual desire?")…”

Daily dyadic coping: Associations with postpartum sexual desire and sexual and relationship satisfaction

“…Additionally, by 3-months postpartum, most couples have resumed sexual activity (Lurie et al, 2013) and longitudinal studies sampling couples from pregnancy to 12-months postpartum reveal that sexual desire, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction are lowest at 3-months postpartum (Leonhardt et al, 2022; Rosen et al, 2020). Further, women who gave birth report significantly lower sexual desire and sexual satisfaction than their partners at 3-months postpartum, suggesting that they experience unique biopsychosocial changes and stressors compared to their partners (Schwenck et al, 2020).…”