Effect of Female Sexual Dysfunction on Self- Esteem of Infertile Women in Osun East Senatorial District Southwest Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of sexual Dysfunction on the self-esteem between infertile and fertile married women in Ife East Senatorial district Southwest Nigeria. This was a comparative cross-sectional study using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. It was conducted at infertility and family planning clinics of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Using stratified random sampling, 222 infertile women at infertility clinic and 222 family planning clients who met inclusion criteria were recruited from 2020 to 2021. Quantitative data was assessed using the Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire, while an in-depth interview guide was employed to collect qualitative data. Data were managed using SPSS version 22. P-value was set at P <0.05. Fifty (22.5%) infertile women had low self-esteem compared with five (2.3%) of fertile women. which was statistically significant (P<0.001). Among fertile women, female sexual Dysfunction did not affect self-esteem (P=0.346), but among infertile women, female sexual Dysfunction significantly affected self–esteem (P=0.016). There is a positive relationship between female sexual function index scores and self-esteem scores among fertile and infertile women (r= 0.294 and 0.354 respectively) p<0.001 Sexual dysfunctions among infertile women adversely affected their self-esteem.