Dinsdale Natalie L, Crespi Bernard J
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6, Canada.
Arch Sex Behav. 2025 Apr;54(4):1649-1669. doi: 10.1007/s10508-025-03117-2. Epub 2025 Apr 3.
Niles Newton, a prolific reproductive biologist, described physical, psychological, and hormonal similarities between female sexual response and childbirth. Such phenotypic overlap indicates shared mechanisms, which led Newton to suggest that dysfunction in one process could interfere with the other process. There currently exists very little research on how pre-birth female sexuality impacts subsequent parturition. We address this knowledge gap and extend Newton's work by proposing that sexual activity provides opportunities for women to physically and psychologically prepare for childbirth, a process that we call "practice for parturition." To introduce and describe the practice for parturition framework, we provide a detailed review of salient reflexes of the female genito-pelvis, as well as psychological states that facilitate both sexual pleasure and parturition. These physical and psychological mechanisms represent putative links between sex and birth that underpin our prediction that sexual activity provides birth preparation for women. We demonstrate the utility of the practice for parturition framework through three systematic reviews, evaluating the following hypotheses: (1) Pelvic floor interventions jointly improve sexual function and birth outcomes; (2) the presence of pre-birth sexual activity and/or sexual function predicts improved labor and birth; and (3) the presence of sexual dysfunction impairs birth outcomes. Results from our review provide notable evidence supporting the three hypotheses, although there are little to no data directly linking female orgasm or arousal with parturition. We describe specific ideas for further tests of the practice for parturition hypothesis, its practical implications, and the relevance of sex-birth interrelationships to informing ongoing debates concerning the evolutionary biology of female orgasm and sexuality more broadly. The practice for parturition hypothesis provides an organizing and testable framework through which to investigate potential benefits of female sexuality on birth.
奈尔斯·牛顿是一位多产的生殖生物学家，他描述了女性性反应与分娩之间在生理、心理和激素方面的相似性。这种表型重叠表明存在共同机制，这使得牛顿提出一个过程中的功能障碍可能会干扰另一个过程。目前关于产前女性性行为如何影响后续分娩的研究非常少。我们填补了这一知识空白，并扩展了牛顿的研究，提出性活动为女性提供了在生理和心理上为分娩做准备的机会，我们将这个过程称为“分娩练习”。为了介绍和描述分娩练习框架，我们详细回顾了女性生殖骨盆的显著反射，以及促进性快感和分娩的心理状态。这些生理和心理机制代表了性与分娩之间的假定联系，支撑着我们关于性活动为女性提供分娩准备的预测。我们通过三项系统评价证明了分娩练习框架的实用性，评估了以下假设：（1）盆底干预共同改善性功能和分娩结局；（2）产前性活动和/或性功能的存在预示着分娩过程更好；（3）性功能障碍的存在会损害分娩结局。我们综述的结果提供了显著证据支持这三个假设，尽管几乎没有直接将女性性高潮或性唤起与分娩联系起来的数据。我们描述了进一步检验分娩练习假设的具体想法、其实际意义，以及性与分娩相互关系对于更广泛地为关于女性性高潮和性行为的进化生物学的持续辩论提供信息的相关性。分娩练习假设提供了一个有组织且可检验的框架，通过它可以研究女性性行为对分娩的潜在益处。
