Sexual Activities and Fear-related Reasons for Avoiding Sexual Activities in Early Pregnancy: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Several studies have reported women's worry that sexual intercourse may harm the course of pregnancy Objective To assess if fears about harming the pregnancy are associated with avoidance of sexual intercourse during pregnancy Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 250 Vietnamese pregnant women in the first or second trimester who visited our hospital for antenatal care. Sexual function was measured by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. The types of fears that were explored in the study included preterm labor, premature rupture of membranes, bleeding, infection, and fetus harm, and were measured by modified questions from the Reasons For Not Engaging in Sexual Activity During Pregnancy (RFNS) questionnaire. Using the total fear score, pregnant women were categorized into low, moderate, and high fear. Main Outcome Measures: Not having sexual intercourse during the past 4 weeks Results Seventy-two (28.8%) pregnant women had no sexual intercourse for the past 4 weeks. All types of fear were common among pregnant women, the more important fears were infection and harming the fetus. On multivariable regression analysis, the prevalence of not having sexual intercourse was higher in both women who had moderate (adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) = 2.84, 95%CI 1.42–5.67) and high fear (adjusted PR = 4.39, 95%CI 2.28–8.44) Conclusions Avoidance of sexual intercourse was common among Vietnamese pregnant women and was associated with the fears about harming the pregnancy. This can be a target in the health education programs for pregnancy couples Disclosure No