Postpartum Sexual Function of Women and the Effects of Early Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises

OpenAlex · İngilizce

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of early pelvic floor muscle training after vaginal delivery on sexual function. DESIGN: Prospective randomized study. SETTINGS: Urogynecology clinic of a tertiary medical center in Istanbul, Turkey. POPULATION: Total of 75 primiparous women. METHODS: Pelvic floor-muscle strength was assessed during rest and straining in primiparous women in their 4th postpartum month, after which the women were randomized into training (n = 37) and control (n = 38) groups. Patients were re-evaluated in the 7th postpartum month. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Female sexual function and pelvic muscle strength scores. RESULTS: Desire, pain and total female sexual index scores were significantly higher in the 7th month compared to 4th month in both groups (p < 0.05). However, sexual arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and satisfaction scores were improved in the 7th month in the training group (paired t-test, p < 0.001), but not significantly in the control group (p > 0.05). All domains except satisfaction were significantly higher in the training group compared with the controls. Pelvic floor-muscle strength was found to be increased in the 7th month in the training group (Wilcoxon rank test, Z = 4.123, p < 0.001), whereas there was no significant difference between the 4th and 7th month measurements in the controls (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Pelvic floor-muscle training improves pelvic floor-muscle function, and starting after the puerperal period, exercise appears to have positive effects on female sexual function.