Abstract
Body image and weight may be associated with sexuality in pregnant women. Twenty pregnant women filled in the two-factor McCoy Female Questionnaire, the Stunkard Figure Rating Scale and the Beck's Depression Inventory Questionnaire. In the pregnant women, the number of intercourses/week and the McCoy Female Questionnaire score for sexuality significantly decreased. The Stunkard Figure Rating Scale evidenced that the actual body silhouette score increased during the third trimester of pregnancy and that the women worsened the feeling with their own image. Changes in appearance, during pregnancy, and the women's fear of being less attractive for their partners may have lasting effects on sexuality.
Highlights
Sexuality, far more than a simple biologic reaction to visual, auditory, or tactile stimuli, should be considered as a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexual activity [1]
The Stunkard Figure Rating Scale evidenced that the "actual body" silhouette score increased during the third trimester of pregnancy and that the women worsened the feeling with their own body image
Women undergo physiological and anatomical changes that have an important impact on their sexual behavior
Summary
Far more than a simple biologic reaction to visual, auditory, or tactile stimuli, should be considered as a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexual activity [1]. Sexuality is an important component of health and well-being in the entire woman's life and pregnancy may be considered a unique period and a cornerstone of the couple's experience. [2] in a subset of pregnant women, observed an increase in sexual desire and sexual satisfaction, several authors underlined that pregnancy, in the third trimester, dramatically decreases the frequency of intercourses [3,4,5]. Pregnancyrelated nausea and vomiting, progressive increase in abdominal size and higher breast sensitiveness may result in physical discomfort during sex and diminish the couple’s interest in sexual interactions [6,7,8,9]. Even though gaining weight is normal in pregnancy, 25-50% of pregnant women feel themselves less attractive [11] and most studies demonstrate a negative shift in body image satisfaction from the pre-pregnancy period to the end of pregnancy [14]
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