Changes in Sexual Desire in Women and Their Partners during Pregnancy

Abstract

When studying sexual desire during pregnancy, most research focuses on the pregnant woman’s sexual desire and almost never takes into account her sexual partner. The novelty of this study is that sexual desire during pregnancy is studied from the point of view of the pregnant woman and from that of her male partner. The goal of this study is to see how sexual desire behaves during pregnancy in both partners. For this, a descriptive, longitudinal, and multistage study was designed. Methodologically, in the first stage, the different study variables were described through a single-variate analysis. In the second stage, one variable was related to others by means of a bivariate analysis. Finally, in the third stage, a multivariate analysis was done, composed of binary logistic regression models and latent growth curves. The results confirm that pregnancy influences the sexual desire of both partners, and that sexual desire behaves differently in women than in men during pregnancy. Men have higher levels of sexual desire throughout pregnancy as compared to women. The first trimester of pregnancy is the period when women have less sexual desire.

Body image in pregnancy: A qualitative study in Malta

“…Additionally, a decrease or complete cessation of exercise in pregnancy, mainly due to fatigue and nausea was reported 6 . When it came to sexual intercourse during pregnancy, a reduced frequency of sexual encounters was reported, consistent to other international research 7,14,15 . Interestingly, women's confusion and fear about whether any physical activity is beneficial or harmful in pregnancy, may imply a lack of information giving in this regard, which has implications for midwives in particular.…”

“…(Bette, p.5, 1. 14) Two participants added that they wanted their bump to show in order to justify their increased weight in the eyes of society.…”

Nursing Diagnoses and Interventions in Women with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: A Scoping Review

“…The "ineffective sexuality pattern" and "risk of activity intolerance" diagnoses, cited in studies conducted with women with HDPs, were also made in most pregnant women. The sexuality pattern is intertwined with positive and negative changes related to the discomforts of pregnancy and psychological changes, making it extremely necessary to change the sexual practices, as required by the pregnant woman, often linked to the fear of "touching the infant" (37). Activity intolerance is based on the premise that weight interferes with exercise, a fact refuted by different studies showing that moderate to light physical activities have positive impacts both on the fetus and the mother, improving growth and development, even in activities of daily living (38,39).…”

A sexualidade vivenciada por gestantes de alto risco de uma maternidade de alta complexidade

“…Os resultados desta pesquisa corroboram com a maioria dos estudos voltados para a sexualidade durante a gravidez (2,4,7,16) , pois é notável que as participantes, em sua maioria, relataram terem tido uma redução da qualidade de vida sexual e isso pode ser justificado por diversos fatores assim já mencionados.…”

“…Houve uma diminuição significativa principalmente para a satisfação sexu-al, uma vez que muitos casais possuem dificuldades de adaptar-se à realidade, além disso fatores como capacidade de concentração e técnicas sexuais do parceiro também podem influenciar nesse resultado de forma positiva ou negativa, é necessário ajustar-se para manter a qualidade da vida sexual (16) .…”