Associations Between Eating Attitudes, Mental Health, and Sexual Dysfunction during Pregnancy

Abstract

This cross-sectional study looked into sexual dysfunctions in a sample of Lebanese pregnant women (N = 433) while assessing their psychopathological correlates. It was a first attempt in research to examine the role of disordered eating attitudes in pregnancy, using the Arabic version of the Disordered Eating Attitudes in Pregnancy Scale. The pre/post comparison in terms of sexual functioning was based on the women’s recall, using the Pregnancy Sexual Response Inventory. According to the pregnant persons perceptions of their sexual functioning before and during pregnancy, 66.1% of the participants reported a lower frequency of sexual activity during pregnancy, 52.7% lower sexual desire, and 47.3% dyspareunia; 33% were sexually satisfied contrasted to 70% before pregnancy. Pregnancy was significantly associated with lower sexual outcomes compared to before. Higher anxiety and more disordered eating attitudes during pregnancy were significantly associated with lower sexuality composite scores. Our study accentuates the need for rigorous medical guidance on sexual activity during pregnancy and highlights dysfunctional eating behaviors and anxiety disorders as pejorative predictors of the sexual response among pregnant women. It thus sustains the hypothesis that mental health disorders pertain to the pathogenesis of sexual problems and should therefore be targeted in sexual health promotion during prenatal care.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all participants.

Ethical approval

The Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross Ethics and Research Committee acceded to our study’s protocol (HPC-014-2021). The protocol is in concordance with the Helsinki declaration (and its later adjustments), which was accepted in 1964 by the 18th World Medical Association General Assembly, in Helsinki (Finland). The study’s objectives were intelligibly mentioned in the questionnaire’s introduction. Pregnant women were eligible to participate once approving the following question: “Do you consent to participate in this study?” that enabled proceeding to the next sections. In this manner, submitting the form online was equivalent to a written informed consent.

Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analyzed during this study are not publicly available to maintain the privacy of the individuals’ identities. The dataset supporting the conclusions is available upon request to the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Authors’ contributions

SG, SO, and SH designed the survey. SG involved in the data collection and entry. SH performed the statistical analysis and data interpretation. SG wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript and approved the final version.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.