title: Maternal sexuality during pregnancy and after childbirth in Muslim Kuwaiti women.
abstract: The sexuality of Kuwaiti Muslim women before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and 6 months after childbirth was studied. A group of 220 women attending the prenatal clinic of the Maternity Hospital Kuwait were randomly selected; 40 (18.2%) declined at the outset, 10 (4.6%) withdrew due to miscarriage and 10 (4.6%) due to failure to attend interviews. The semistructured interview was conducted by a female obstetrician at 4-week intervals starting from 12 weeks pregnancy to 6 months after childbirth. The study led to the following observations: (i) All the women were religious and abided by the Islamic rules and way of life. (ii) The diagnosis of pregnancy led to a decline in sexuality that continued throughout the pregnancy, with a second and early third trimester increase in sexuality but still below the prepregnancy baseline. (iii) Each woman had a consistent pattern of sexuality during pregnancy reflecting her prepregnancy level of sexuality. (iv) Younger age group, multiparity, low-level of education, lesser duration of marriage, and intention of breast-feeding characterized the sexuality pattern positively, as did attitudes towards sexuality during pregnancy and after childbirth. Breast-feeding mothers exceeded their prepregnancy level of sexuality earlier than bottle-feeding mothers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, Kuwait University Faculty of Medicine, Safat.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: al Bustan
authors.forename: N F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: el Tomi
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Faiwalla
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Manav
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D007730:Kuwait; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior