Português

Abstract

Female sexual dysfunction is a disturbance in one or more phases of the female sexual response cycle, and is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a public health issue. During the postpartum period, women experience physical, emotional, and social changes, which directly affect their sexual needs and cause difficulties in returning to sexual activity. The objective of this study is to investigate the occurrence of sexual dysfunctions in puerperal women up to 12 months postpartum, as well as to characterize the sociodemographic, psychosocial, and obstetric factors associated with these dysfunctions. Data collection was conducted by approaching women waiting for child healthcare and vaccination services at UBS in the city of Cascavel-PR, in the year 2024, using a data collection questionnaire created by the researcher, and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, adapted into Portuguese, along with the remote distribution of research questionnaires to a community health group of puerperal women in the city. The sample consisted of 30 puerperal women, sexually active in the last 4 weeks. 56.66% of the women in this study had sexual dysfunction, with sociodemographic and obstetric factors showing no influence on the occurrence of such dysfunctions. Decreased self-esteem, body shame, fear of sexual activity and lack of knowledge about sexual disfunctions were common among study participants.