Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of mode of delivery on sexual function.
Design: One thousand six hundred and thirteen questionnaires containing 16 questions about sexual behavior and dyspareunia before, during and after pregnancy were sent out to primiparous, ethnically homogeneous (fluent in German) patients who delivered in a large tertiary referral center between 6 months and 2(1/2) year before. The returned questionnaires were merged to clinical data from our obstetric database in an anonymous fashion. The patients were subdivided into four groups (A) "spontaneous without injuries (except minor labial laceration)", (B) "c-section", (C)"episiotomy or perineal laceration", and (D) "operative vaginal delivery".
Results: The response rate of primiparae was 41% (655/1613). Forty-seven percent of women resumed sexual intercourse (SI) within 8 weeks after delivery. Altogether 31% of the women did not experience any pain during the first SI post-partum whereas 49% of all patients noted significant pain (medium, considerable or severe), depending on the mode of delivery (p = 0.007). Persistence of dyspareunia longer than 6 months was 3.5% (4/115; group A), 3.4% (2/58; group B), 11% (34/316; group C), and 14% (20/114; group D).
Conclusions: Recently, female sexuality may not have been prominent in any discussion concerning possible advantages and disadvantages of different modes of childbirth. Our results should be taken into consideration when counseling patients antenatally regarding mode of delivery.