Pregnancy does not appear to heighten a woman’s body dissatisfaction, but it does not protect against the effects of such dissatisfaction on sexual distress, a recent study reports.
Past studies have shown that poor body image is generally linked to poorer sexual function in women. Conversely, women tend to have more sexual satisfaction when they think positively about their bodies. However, the degree to which these notions apply to pregnant women has been unclear.
This study compared degrees of body dissatisfaction in two groups of women – pregnant and non-pregnant. It also considered body appearance cognitive distraction and sexual distress in these two groups.
Cognitive distraction was explained as follows: “By observing and monitoring one’s behavior during sexual activity, one distracts oneself from the sexual sensations and cues. Concerns about body appearance have consistently been found to be a source of cognitive distraction.”
Researchers analyzed two samples of heterosexual women in Portugal whose ages ranged from 25 to 40 with an average of 32 years. Forty-four women were pregnant, and the rest were not. All women were in committed relationships.
The women completed several questionnaires that assessed their body dissatisfaction, frequency of cognitive distraction based on body appearance during sex, and sexual distress lasting three months or longer.
The researchers reported that “body dissatisfaction and sexual distress are related, but they are fully mediated by cognitive distraction.”
They found that the pregnant and non-pregnant groups were not different in terms of body dissatisfaction and body appearance cognitive distraction during sex. It’s possible that pregnant women “embrace the changes” that occur in their bodies.
The authors also found no differences in sexual distress between the two groups.
However, they also noted that while pregnant women did not have higher levels of body dissatisfaction compared to non-pregnant women, “pregnancy does not protect women from the experience of body dissatisfaction, body appearance cognitive distraction, or from the experience of sexual distress.”
They recommended that healthcare providers still consider the effects of body dissatisfaction on the sexual function of pregnant women and ask patients about sexual distress. In some cases, sex therapy might be appropriate.
They acknowledged that their study sample was small and that pregnant women were not assessed throughout their pregnancy. They also did not account for factors like relationship satisfaction, which might have affected the results.
The study was published online in March in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Resources
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Pascoal, Patrícia M. Ph.D., et al.
“Does Pregnancy Play a Role? Association of Body Dissatisfaction, Body Appearance Cognitive Distraction, and Sexual Distress”
(Full-text. Published online: March 6, 2019)
https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(19)30358-3/fulltext