Post-pregnancy sexual function not tied to delivery

Women often worry that labour and delivery will harm their sex life after pregnancy, but there is no evidence that childbirth affects a woman's long-term sexual function. Researchers from the University Medical Center Utrecht, Netherlands found that the biggest predictor of a woman's post-baby sex life was her sex life before the baby. There has been little research into how the type of delivery affects a woman's postpartum sexual function. However, reports in the popular media suggest that many women worry that vaginal delivery will harm their sexual function. And there is some reason for concern, as a research review found that vaginal delivery with the use of forceps or vacuum assistance could make sex painful for some time after childbirth. The researchers followed 377 first-time mothers. Those who were not having sex early in pregnancy were more likely to still be sex-free when their babies were a year old, than other women. The women were followed from the 12th week of pregnancy until one year after childbirth. During and after pregnancy, the women completed questionnaires on their sexual activity and satisfaction with their sex life. Overall, it was found that women's sex lives one year after childbirth were unrelated to the type of delivery they had - whether vaginal, vaginal delivery with forceps or vacuum, or caesarean section. But women who weren't having sex at week 12 of pregnancy were 11 times more likely to be sexually inactive one year after childbirth than other women. The only other factor that affected long-term sexual function was significant tearing in the anal sphincter during childbirth; the 6 percent of women with this injury were five times less likely to be sexually active one year later. It's not clear why some women weren't having sex early in pregnancy, or why for some women, the pattern remained long after childbirth. Sexual activity early in pregnancy may be a reflection of sexual function before pregnancy, but the study did not assess the women's pre-pregnancy sex life. It was found that 94 percent of women were having sex one year after giving birth. That included a majority of those who'd abstained during early pregnancy or who'd suffered an anal tear during delivery.