Lorenz Tierney K, Ramsdell Erin L, Brock Rebecca L
Department of Psychology and Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States.
Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, United States.
Front Psychol. 2020 Jan 10;10:2974. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02974. eCollection 2019.
A common topic for advice given to parents after childbirth - both from relationship experts and popular media - is how to "bounce back" to one's pre-pregnancy sexuality, with warnings that postpartum declines in sexual frequency will take a serious toll on one's relationship. However, these admonishments may not accurately reflect the ways in which the unique reproductive context of pregnancy and the postpartum transition alter associations between sexual frequency and relationship quality. Evolutionary perspectives on reproductive strategies would suggest that in the postpartum context, decreased sexual activity would help target parental investment in the current offspring (rather than creating new offspring); however, if the parental relationship is lacking in intimacy and support, continued sexual activity may help seal the cracks in the bond. We tested this theory in a longitudinal dyadic study of changes in relationship quality and sexual frequency from pregnancy to 6 months postpartum among 159 heterosexual couples. We found that across three different measures of relationship quality taken from interviews and behavioral observation of couple interactions, relationship quality (i.e., greater support, intimacy, and responsiveness) predicted greater decline in sexual frequency whereas sexual frequency remained relatively stable in lower quality relationships. These findings suggest that, during the postpartum transition, decreased sexual frequency may not be a reliable signal of poor relationship quality.
分娩后，无论是关系专家还是大众媒体，给父母的常见建议话题之一是如何“恢复”到孕前的性状态，并警告说产后性生活频率下降会对夫妻关系造成严重影响。然而，这些告诫可能并未准确反映怀孕和产后过渡这一独特生殖背景改变性生活频率与关系质量之间关联的方式。关于生殖策略的进化观点表明，在产后阶段，性活动减少有助于将亲代投资集中于当前的后代（而非孕育新的后代）；然而，如果夫妻关系缺乏亲密感和支持，持续的性活动可能有助于弥合关系中的裂痕。我们在一项纵向二元研究中对这一理论进行了检验，该研究涉及159对异性恋夫妻从怀孕到产后6个月期间关系质量和性生活频率的变化。我们发现，从对夫妻互动的访谈和行为观察中获取的三种不同关系质量衡量指标显示，关系质量（即更多的支持、亲密感和反应能力）预示着性生活频率下降幅度更大，而在质量较低的关系中，性生活频率相对稳定。这些发现表明，在产后过渡阶段，性生活频率下降可能并非关系质量不佳的可靠信号。
