Constraints and/or determinants of return to sexual activity in the puerperium.

to identify factors which constrain or determine the return to sexual activity in the puerperium. exploratory and descriptive study undertaken in a university hospital in the South of Brazil. Fifteen women who had recently given birth, who received a consultation with the nurse in the period August - October 2011, took part in the study. Data was collected after the consultation had finished through semi-structured interviews, in which the women who had recently given birth were asked about the return to sexual activity and the feelings involved in this process. the principal determinant/constraint for return to sexual activity in the post-natal period was the fear of a new pregnancy. Fear of feeling pain, permission from the health professional, shame of their own bodies and changes in libido emerged as constraining and/or determinant factors in the thematic analysis. it is considered fundamental for the issue of contraception to be addressed with the woman/couple during the pre-natal consultation, so that there may be opportunities for reflection and dialog prior to the critical time itself.

Citation

Cleci de Fátima Enderle, Nalú Pereira da Costa Kerber, Valéria Lerch Lunardi, Camila Magroski Goulart Nobre, Luiza Mattos, Eloisa Fonseca Rodrigues. Constraints and/or determinants of return to sexual activity in the puerperium. Revista latino-americana de enfermagem. 2013 May-Jun;21(3):719-25

PMID: 23918017

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