ArticleJournal of midwifery & women's health
Does spontaneous genital tract trauma impact postpartum sexual function?
Article in Journal of midwifery & women's health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 98 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sexual dysfunction and mode of delivery in Chinese primiparous women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Pooled it
- Sexual life and dysfunction after maternal morbidity: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2015Pooled it
- Surgical repair of spontaneous perineal tears that occur during childbirth versus no intervention.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2011Pooled it
- Sexual experiences of women during and after pregnancy: a survey-based study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- What delivery-related factors affect postpartum recovery? A systematic review.AJOG global reports · 2025Review
- Development of sexual health promotion package in pregnancy: The Delphi method.Journal of education and health promotion · 2022Article
- Effects of Breastfeeding on Endometriosis-Related Pain: A Prospective Observational Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Observational
- Postpartum perineal pain and dyspareunia related to each superficial perineal muscle injury: a cohort study.International urogynecology journal · 2020Article
- Perceptions and Behaviors Related to Contraceptive Use in the Postpartum Period Among Women With Pregestational Diabetes Mellitus.Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN · 2020Article
- Postpartum Sexual Functioning and Its Predicting Factors among Iranian Women.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2017Article
- Sexual activity and dyspareunia the first year postpartum in relation to degree of perineal trauma.International urogynecology journal · 2016Article
- Perineal body stretch during labor does not predict perineal laceration, postpartum incontinence, or postpartum sexual function: a cohort study.International urogynecology journal · 2016Article
- Does a large infant head or a short perineal body increase the risk of obstetrical perineal trauma?Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2014Article
- Postpartum contraceptive initiation and use: Evidence from Accra, Ghana.Women's health (London, England)Article
- Predictors of postpartum sexual activity and function in a diverse population of women.Journal of midwifery & women's healthObservational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Changes in sexual function are common in postpartum women. In this comparative, descriptive study, a prospective cohort of midwifery patients consented to documentation of genital trauma at birth and assessment of sexual function at 3 months postpartum. The impact of spontaneous genital trauma on postpartum sexual function was the focus of the study. Trauma was categorized into minor trauma (no trauma or first-degree perineal or other trauma that was not sutured) or major trauma (second-, third-, or fourth-degree lacerations or any trauma that required suturing). Women who underwent episiotomy or operative delivery were excluded. Fifty-eight percent (326/565) of enrolled women gave sexual function data; of those, 276 (85%) reported sexual activity since delivery. Seventy percent (193) of women sustained minor trauma and 30% (83) sustained major trauma. Sexually active women completed the Intimate Relationship Scale (IRS), a 12-item questionnaire validated as a measure of postpartum sexual function. Both trauma groups were equally likely to be sexually active. Total IRS scores did not differ between trauma groups nor did complaints of dyspareunia. However, for two items, significant differences were demonstrated: women with major trauma reported less desire to be held, touched, and stroked by their partner than women with minor trauma, and women who required perineal suturing reported lower IRS scores than women who did not require suturing.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.