title: Constraints and/or determinants of return to sexual activity in the puerperium.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to identify factors which constrain or determine the return to sexual activity in the puerperium.
  
  
  METHODS
  exploratory and descriptive study undertaken in a university hospital in the South of Brazil. Fifteen women who had recently given birth, who received a consultation with the nurse in the period August - October 2011, took part in the study. Data was collected after the consultation had finished through semi-structured interviews, in which the women who had recently given birth were asked about the return to sexual activity and the feelings involved in this process.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the principal determinant/constraint for return to sexual activity in the post-natal period was the fear of a new pregnancy. Fear of feeling pain, permission from the health professional, shame of their own bodies and changes in libido emerged as constraining and/or determinant factors in the thematic analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  it is considered fundamental for the issue of contraception to be addressed with the woman/couple during the pre-natal consultation, so that there may be opportunities for reflection and dialog prior to the critical time itself.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil. clecienderle@yahoo.com.br
authors.forename: Cleci de Fátima
authors.initials: Cde F
authors.lastname: Enderle
authors.forename: Nalú Pereira da Costa
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Kerber
authors.forename: Valéria Lerch
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Lunardi
authors.forename: Camila Magroski Goulart
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Nobre
authors.forename: Luiza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mattos
authors.forename: Eloisa Fonseca
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D055815:Young Adult