Gillen Meghan M, Rosenbaum Diane L, Markey Charlotte H
The Pennsylvania State University, USA.
The Pennsylvania State University, USA.
Body Image. 2025 Mar;52:101852. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2025.101852. Epub 2025 Jan 27.
Body image and sexuality both pertain to the body. Positive experiences in one domain are generally associated with positive experiences in the other. Yet, less is known about body image among postpartum women specifically. Women's bodies may change in socially undesirable ways after having a baby, which may relate to decreased comfort in partnered sexual activities. To that end, the current study aimed to examine links between body image and sexuality among postpartum women. Participants (N = 597) were women who had birthed a baby within the past year and lived in the United States. Most women resumed sex by 3 months after birth. Further, most women's first postpartum sexual experience was "not at all" to "somewhat" enjoyable, and nearly 2/3 of first postpartum sexual experiences were partner-initiated. Women who initiate partnered sexual activity, however, have less body image self-consciousness. Women who have higher body appreciation reported greater enjoyment of their first postpartum sexual experience; less body image self-consciousness was also related to earlier timing of first penetration. Findings suggest that women's body image is related to the timing of sexual activity after birth and how much women enjoy this activity.
身体意象和性都与身体相关。一个领域的积极体验通常与另一个领域的积极体验相关。然而，产后女性的身体意象方面的了解却较少。女性产后身体可能会发生一些在社会观念上不受欢迎的变化，这可能与伴侣性行为中的舒适度降低有关。为此，本研究旨在探讨产后女性身体意象与性之间的联系。参与者（N = 597）为过去一年内生育过且居住在美国的女性。大多数女性在产后3个月恢复性生活。此外，大多数女性的首次产后性体验“一点也不”到“有些”愉快，并且近三分之二的首次产后性体验是由伴侣发起的。然而，主动发起伴侣性行为的女性身体意象的自我意识较低。身体欣赏度较高的女性报告称其首次产后性体验的愉悦感更强；身体意象自我意识较低也与首次性交时间较早有关。研究结果表明，女性的身体意象与产后性活动的时间以及女性对该活动的享受程度有关。
