Mode of delivery not linked to post-parturition sexual satisfaction, suggests study

The potential association between mode of obstetrical delivery and subsequent sexual outcomes of the birthing parent remains uncertain and has not been well investigated from the perspective of positive sexual life satisfaction. This study aimed to investigate if there was any association between mode of delivery and subsequent sexual life satisfaction of the birthing parent. A secondary aim was to assess the extent to which this association changed when stratified by time elapsed since delivery. The study matched participants in the Stockholm Public Health Cohort with deliveries recorded in the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Any deliveries recorded in the registry before the participation in the Stockholm Public Health Cohort were included (n=46,078).

The length of time from delivery to outcome assessment varied from 1 month to 41 years (mean, 18 years [±10.8]). Mode of delivery was retrieved from the same registry, whereas self-perceived sexual life satisfaction was retrieved from the Stockholm Public Health Cohort Questionnaires where participants had assessed their sexual life satisfaction as 1 out of 5 mutually exclusive options. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test for any association between mode of delivery (cesarean, instrumental, and spontaneous vaginal delivery) and sexual life satisfaction, both overall and stratified by time elapsed since delivery.

Results: After adjusting for covariates, no statistically significant (P < .05) difference in subsequent sexual life satisfaction of the birthing parent between modes of delivery was identified. Adjusted odds ratios for assessing sexual life satisfaction as the lowest level (“very unsatisfactory”) were 1.11 (95% confidence interval, 0.98–1.25) for cesarean delivery and 1.16 (95% confidence interval, 0.99–1.35) for instrumental delivery, compared with spontaneous vaginal delivery. The difference in covariate-adjusted prevalence of the lowest level of sexual life satisfaction among the different groups categorized by time since delivery was small: 4.0% (95% confidence interval, 2.4%–5.6%) for cesarean delivery as opposed to 2.8% (95% confidence interval, 2.1%–3.6%) for spontaneous vaginal delivery within 2 years since delivery. These findings do not support any impact of mode of delivery on the subsequent self-perceived sexual life satisfaction among birthing people, either overall or across different time periods since delivery.

Reference:

Larsdotter Zweygberg A, Martin FZ, Brynedal B, Storck Lindholm E, Kosidou K, Ahlqvist VH, Magnusson C. Mode of delivery and subsequent self-perceived sexual life satisfaction: a population-based cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Feb 15:S0002-9378(24)00087-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2024.02.015. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38367755.