a Department of Psychology and Neuroscience , Dalhousie University , Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada.
b Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , IWK Health Centre , Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada.
J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2018 Jun;39(2):138-145. doi: 10.1080/0167482X.2017.1312334. Epub 2017 Apr 12.
Pregnant women consistently report fears that sexual activity could harm their pregnancy. Little is known, however, about the degree to which women report these fears as reasons for not having sex during pregnancy and whether these fears relate to women's well-being. The aims of this study were to assess the importance of women's fears of sexual activity harming the pregnancy in their decision not to engage in sex during pregnancy, and the associations between these fears and sexual and relationship well-being.
Pregnant women (N = 261) were recruited online to complete a survey that included a novel scale of fear-based reasons for not engaging in sexual activity during pregnancy and validated measures of sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction, sexual distress and relationship satisfaction.
Over half of the women (58.6%) reported at least one fear as a reason for not engaging in sexual activity while pregnant, though total fear scores were low. Greater fear-based reasons for not having sex were associated with greater sexual distress but were unrelated to sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction.
Women who reported higher rates of refraining from sex due to fear that it could harm their pregnancy reported greater sexual distress, but not lower sexual functioning or sexual and relationship satisfaction. Results suggest that interventions focused on minimizing fears of sexual activity during pregnancy may not be essential for promoting women's broader sexual and relationship well-being in pregnancy, but may help to reduce women's global feelings of worry and anxiety about their sexual relationship.
孕妇经常报告担心性行为可能会伤害怀孕。然而，对于女性报告这些担忧作为怀孕期间不进行性行为的原因的程度，以及这些担忧与女性健康的关系，知之甚少。本研究旨在评估女性对性行为可能伤害怀孕的恐惧在其怀孕期间不参与性行为的决定中的重要性，以及这些恐惧与性和关系健康之间的关联。
招募了 261 名孕妇在线完成了一项调查，该调查包括一个评估因害怕而不参与怀孕期间性行为的新量表，以及评估性功能、性满意度、性困扰和关系满意度的验证性测量。
超过一半的女性（58.6%）报告了至少一个因害怕而不参与性行为的原因，尽管总恐惧得分较低。性恐惧原因较多与性困扰程度较大相关，但与性功能、性满意度和关系满意度无关。
因担心性行为会伤害怀孕而报告更高比例的女性避免性行为的报告显示出更大的性困扰，但性功能或性和关系满意度较低。结果表明，专注于减少对怀孕期间性行为的恐惧的干预措施可能对促进女性在怀孕期间更广泛的性和关系健康并非必要，但可能有助于减轻女性对其性关系的整体担忧和焦虑感。
