Cesarean section and postnatal sexual health.

BACKGROUND

Cesarean delivery avoids perineal trauma and has therefore often been assumed to protect sexual function after childbirth. We sought to examine this assumption by using data from a study of women's sexual health after childbirth to assess whether women who underwent cesarean section experienced better sexual health in the postnatal period than women with vaginal births.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted of 796 primiparous women, employing data from obstetric records and a postal survey 6 months after delivery.

RESULTS

Any protective effect of cesarean section on sexual function was limited to the early postnatal period (0-3 months), primarily to dyspareunia-related symptoms. At 6 months the differences in dyspareunia-related symptoms, sexual response-related symptoms, and postcoital problems were much reduced or reversed, and none reached statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS

Outcomes from this study provide no basis for advocating cesarean section as a way to protect women's sexual function after childbirth.