Women undergoing treatment for infertility may be less satisfied with their sex lives and are at a higher risk of sexual dysfunction than women with normal fertility.
Women undergoing treatment for infertility may be less satisfied with their sex lives and are at a higher risk of sexual dysfunction than women with normal fertility.
Past studies have found that both infertility and its treatment can negatively affect women's and men's emotional well-being or create marital tension. In addition, couples trying to conceive may eventually feel the pressures of sex-on-demand, which can drain their satisfaction with their sex lives. To determine the impact of infertility on female sexual function, researchers compared 119 American women with infertility and 99 healthy females without infertility aged between 18 and 45 years. Both groups were similar in terms of average weight, education levels and racial and ethnicity. All of the women completed a standard questionnaire on female sexual function; scores lower than 26 were considered to indicate a high risk of sexual dysfunction.
Women with fertility problems had a lower average score when it came to rating their sex-life satisfaction. And 34 percent said they'd had a decline in satisfaction since their infertility diagnosis. The average score in the infertility group was 27, compared with 29 among fertile women.
Forty percent of women with fertility problems scored low enough to be considered high-risk, versus one-quarter of fertile women. Infertile women also tended to have intercourse less often - an average of seven times per month, compared with just over nine times per month for fertile women. The infertility patients reported more problems with desire and arousal. They did not differ from fertile women in physical symptoms like vaginal dryness or pain during sex, nor did they report more difficulty reaching orgasm.
The above findings show that infertility is a potential risk factor for sexual dysfunction. Further studies are required to measure depression, marital problems and male partners' sexual function as risk factors for female sexual dysfunction.
Past studies have found that both infertility and its treatment can negatively affect women's and men's emotional well-being or create marital tension. In addition, couples trying to conceive may eventually feel the pressures of sex-on-demand, which can drain their satisfaction with their sex lives. To determine the impact of infertility on female sexual function, researchers compared 119 American women with infertility and 99 healthy females without infertility aged between 18 and 45 years. Both groups were similar in terms of average weight, education levels and racial and ethnicity. All of the women completed a standard questionnaire on female sexual function; scores lower than 26 were considered to indicate a high risk of sexual dysfunction.
Women with fertility problems had a lower average score when it came to rating their sex-life satisfaction. And 34 percent said they'd had a decline in satisfaction since their infertility diagnosis. The average score in the infertility group was 27, compared with 29 among fertile women.
Forty percent of women with fertility problems scored low enough to be considered high-risk, versus one-quarter of fertile women. Infertile women also tended to have intercourse less often - an average of seven times per month, compared with just over nine times per month for fertile women. The infertility patients reported more problems with desire and arousal. They did not differ from fertile women in physical symptoms like vaginal dryness or pain during sex, nor did they report more difficulty reaching orgasm.
The above findings show that infertility is a potential risk factor for sexual dysfunction. Further studies are required to measure depression, marital problems and male partners' sexual function as risk factors for female sexual dysfunction.
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