Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Evaluation of sexual functions and marital adjustment of pregnant women in Turkey

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 28, pages 176–183 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate pregnant women’s sexual function and marital adjustment. The sample of the study included 298 women, and it was evaluated using Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) Scale and Marital Adjustment Scale. The most important reasons for decreasing the frequency of sexual intercourse included the fear of harming the fetus during intercourse (62.1%), fear of having miscarriage (47.8%) and decreased sexual desire (34.7%). It was found that women with sexual dysfunction had a significantly lower educational level, were living with three or more people in their home, were multiparious, had an unplanned pregnancy, reported pain during sexual intercourse and felt that their sexual life was very affected during pregnancy. The findings of the study showed that women had ⩾5 points for GRISS for the subscales as follows: infrequency (47.3%), non-communication (57.4%), dissatisfaction (15.4%), avoidance (6.4%), non-sensuality (19.1%), vaginismus (28.9%), anorgasmia (29.9%) and sexual dysfunction (17.4%). In conclusion, women who were living with three or more people at home, had lower income level, were smoking and had an unplanned pregnancy scored under 43.5 of MAS. It was found negative and there was a medium correlation between MAS score and total GRISS score.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ahmed MR, Madny EH, Sayed Ahmed WA . Prevalence of female sexual dysfunction during pregnancy among Egyptian women. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2014; 40: 1023–1029.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Tosun Güleroğlu F, Gördeles Beşer N . Evaluation of sexual functions of the pregnant women. J Sex Med 2014; 11: 146–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ertem G, Sevil Ü . The effect of pregnancy over sexuality. Dirim Med J 2012; 85: 40–47 [in Turkish].

    Google Scholar 

  4. Chang SR, Chen KH, Lin HH, Yu HJ . Comparison of overall sexual function, sexual intercourse/activity, sexual satisfaction, and sexual desire during the three trimesters of pregnancy and assessment of their determinants. J Sex Med 2011; 8: 2859–2867.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Pauleta JR, Pereira NM, Graça LM . Sexuality during pregnancy. J Sex Med 2010; 7: 136–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Erenel Seturk A, Eroğlu K, Vural G, Dilbaz B . A pilot study: in what ways do women in Turkey experience a change in their sexuality during pregnancy? Sexual Disabil 2012; 29: 207–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Yangın HB, Eroğlu K . Investigation of the sexual behavior of pregnant women residing in squatter neighborhoods in Southwestern Turkey: a qualitative study. J Sex Marital Ther 2011; 37: 190–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Araujo NM, Salim NR, Gualda DM, Pereira da Silva LC . Body and sexuality during pregnancy. Rev Esc Enferm USP 2012; 46: 552–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Babazadeh R, Najimabadi KM, Masomi Z . Changes in sexual desire and activity during pregnancy among women in Shahroud, Iran. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2013; 120: 82–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Jamali S, Mosalanejad L . Sexual dysfunction in Iranian pregnant women. Iran J Reprod Med 2013; 11: 479–486.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Liu HL, Hsu P, Chen KH . Sexual activity during pregnancy in Taiwan: a qualitative study. Sex Med 2013; 1: 54–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rados SN, Vranes HS, Sunjic M . Limited role of body satisfaction and body image self-consciousness in sexual frequency and satisfaction in pregnant women. J Sex Res 2014; 51: 532–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Torkestani F, Hadavand SH, Khodashenase Z, Besharat S, Davati A, Karimi Z et al. Frequency and perception of sexual activity during pregnancy in Iranian couples. Int J Fertil Steril 2012; 6: 107–110.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Olusegun FA, Ireti AO . Sexuality and sexual experience among women with uncomplicated pregnancies in Ikeja, Lagos. J Med Med Sci 2011; 2: 894–899.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Rados SN, Vranes HS, Sunjic M . Sexuality during pregnancy: what is important for sexual satisfaction in expectant fathers? J Sex Marital Ther 2014; 41: 282–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Amiredu N, Owiredu NK, Woode E, Addai-Mensah O, Quaye L, Alhassan A et al. Incidence of sexual dysfunction: a prospective survey in Ghanaian females. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2010; 8: 106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Kaplan HS . The New Sex Therapy: Active Treatment of Sexual Dysfunctions. Brunner/Mazel: New York, NY, USA, 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Naldoni LM, Pazmino MA, Pezzan PA, Pereire SB, Duarte G, Ferreira CH . Evaluation of sexual function in Brazilian pregnant women. J Sex Marital Ther 2011; 37: 116–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Chang SR, Ho HN, Chen KH, Shyu MK, Huang LH, Lin WA . Depressive symptoms as a predictor of sexual function during pregnancy. J Sex Med 2012; 9: 2582–2589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Corbacioglu Esmer A, Akca A, Akbayir O, Goksedef BP, Bakir VL . Female sexual function and associated factors during pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2013; 39: 1165–1172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Yıldız H . The relation between prepregnancy sexuality and sexual function during pregnancy and the postpartum period: a prospective study. J Sex Marital Ther 2015; 41: 49–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kisa S, Zeyneloğlu S, Yilmaz D, Güner T . Quality of sexual life and its effect on marital adjustment of Turkish women in pregnancy. J Sex Marital Ther 2014; 40: 309–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Rust J, Golombok S . The GRISS: a psychometric instrument for the assessment of sexual dysfunction. Arch Sex Behav 1996; 15: 157–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Tuğrul C, Öztan N, Kabakçı E . Standardization study of Golombok–Rust inventory of sexual satisfaction. Turk J Psychiatry 1993; 4: 83–88 [in Turkish].

    Google Scholar 

  25. Locke HJ, Wallace KM . Short marital-adjustment and prediction tests: their reliability and validity. Marriage Fam Living 1959; 21: 251–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Tutarel-Kışlak Ş . Reliability and validity of marital adjustment scale. 3 P—J Psychiatry Psychol Psychopharmacol 1999; 7: 50–57 [in Turkish].

    Google Scholar 

  27. Bilgiç D, Beji Kızılkaya N, Yalçın Ö . Assessment of sexual function in urogynecology patients. J Turk Soc Obstet Gynecol 2012; 9: 142–152 [in Turkish].

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Escudero-Rivas R, Carretero P, Cano A, Cruz M, Florido J . Modifications of sexual activity during uncomplicated pregnancy: a prospective investigation of Spanish women. Scientific Res 2013; 5: 1289–1294.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Amidu N, Owiredu WK, Gyasi-Sarpong CK, Woode E, Quaye L . Sexual dysfunction among married couples living in Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. BMC Urol 2011; 11: 3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Yalçın H . Relationship between adaptation of the marriage and demographic characteristics. J Res Educ Teaching 2014; 3: 250–261 [in Turkish].

    Google Scholar 

  31. Fowers BJ . The limits of a technical concept of a good marriage: exploring the role of virtue in communication skills. J Marital Family Ther 2001; 27: 327–340.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Ekşi H, Kahraman Z . The effect of a marriage and family life education program to marital adjustment and family system for married women. Marmara University Atatürk Education Faculty J Educ Sci 2012; 36: 129–145 [in Turkish].

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Celal Bayar University, School of Health, İstasyon mevki, Manisa, Turkey

    E Yanikkerem, S Ustgorul & A Karakus

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Celal Bayar University, Celal Bayar University Hafsa Sultan Hospital, Manisa, Turkey

    A Goker

Authors
  1. E Yanikkerem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A Goker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S Ustgorul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A Karakus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A Goker.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yanikkerem, E., Goker, A., Ustgorul, S. et al. Evaluation of sexual functions and marital adjustment of pregnant women in Turkey. Int J Impot Res 28, 176–183 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2016.26

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2016.26

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links