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Postnatal Depression and Sexual Health After Childbirth

From Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, Department of Community Health Sciences, St. George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London, and Obstetrics & Gynaecology, St. George’s Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK.

Address reprint requests to: Diane Morof, MD, MSc, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215; E-mail: dmorof{at}caregroup.harvard.edu.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the sexual health experiences of depressed and nondepressed postnatal women within a 6-month postnatal period.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study used obstetric records and postal survey 6 months after delivery from a cohort of primiparous women (n = 796) delivering a live-born infant at St. George’s NHS Trust, London. Women self-reported sexual problems and sexual behaviors and completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

RESULTS: Of the 796 parturients, 484 responded (61%), and 468 completed the survey questions on depression and sexual health (97%). Of the latter, 57 (12%) fit the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale criteria. Comparing the depressed with nondepressed women, resumption of sexual activity occurred with 77% versus 90% (P = .003), and the median number of specific sexual problems reported was two versus one, respectively (P = .009).

CONCLUSION: Sexual health problems were common after childbirth in both depressed and nondepressed women; however, depressed women were less likely to have resumed intercourse at 6 months and more likely to report sexual health problems. Given the frequency of sexual health problems, postnatal sexual morbidity cannot be assumed to be simply a product of the depressed mental state.

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