Sexual function after childbirth: a meta-analysis based on mode of delivery

ABSTRACT

Although many women report sexual dysfunction in the postpartum period, controversial research has been reported the relationship between delivery mode and sexual function. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the sexual function after childbirth and identify the difference of sexual function based on the female sexual function index (FSFI) questionnaire in women with elective cesarean section, vaginal delivery with episiotomy and vaginal delivery without episiotomy. Studies were found by searching in Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and considering the references of the related papers from their start dates until September 2021. All observational studies in English that reported the mean and SD of score of sexual function and its domains based on the mode of delivery were included in this meta-analysis. Random effect model was used to combine the results of included studies on female sexual function and its subdomains. Finally, 17 articles with a total population of 3410 were included in the meta-analysis. Total mean (95 percent CI) of sexual function was 24.27 (22.82, 25.72) with substantial heterogeneity among studies (χ2 = 7487.63, P < .001; I² = 99.45). In subgroup analyses, the mean score of sexual function was significantly differed in terms of time elapsed since delivery (P = .04) and studied country (P < .001). But, the mode of delivery has no significant effect on postpartum sexual function and subdomains. The result indicated that elective cesarean section, vaginal delivery with episiotomy, vaginal delivery without episiotomy are not associated with the female sexual function.

KEYWORDS:

• Cesarean section
• delivery, obstetric
• episiotomy
• female sexual function

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Contribution to authorship

MZ, as responding author, had full access to all of the data in the study and is the responsible for this paper as well as the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. MZ was responsible for the initial plan, HHM and RA were responsible for study design and statistical analysis and for conducting the study. RA, HHM, EA, NM and MZ were responsible for data collection, data extraction, data interpretation, and drafting of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

It is available in https://www.authorea.com/users/451586/articles/550675-sexual-function-after-childbirth-a-meta-analysis-base-on-mode-of-delivery address with DOI: 10.22541/au.164087674.43585062/v1

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2022.2158412.

Notes

^1. Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool (JBI).

Additional information

Funding

The authors reported that there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.