New study suggests vaginal birth = lower quality of life & sexual fulfillment for mom

[Jacksmommy2b]

and dad.

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122267095/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

This is only the abstract of the article as you have to pay for the complete version. (and I am debating it.)

As a previous Csec mommy debating wether to VBAC I am really curious to see how other moms feel about the study - especially anyone who has had both a vaginal and surgical birth.

[Naranjadia]

My B.S. meter is going off. Looking at the abstract, it says they got their information 8-weeks post-partum, and yet they refer to the period as "long-term." 8 weeks post-partum is long term??!

[shoxie]

I'm having trouble opening the link, but something seems off here. Naranjadia - yes, I agree with you. Eight weeks PP seems to be a bit strange to be judging sexual fulfillment and quality of life. You're barely sleeping, and with my first, I was not into sex at that point, at all. I had a second degree tear, and that took a while to recover from - several months actually. There are so many variables that I can think of that would skew this "study" completely...I'd really love to read it in its entirety...

[BeachBum]

I've had both. And my vaginal birth was a tough one as I had a 3rd degree tear. I would take the vaginal birth hands down!
I would say sex was more uncomfortable at first with the vaginal birth--but DUH! And 8 weeks being long term?? Most doctors don't even give the sex "ok" until your 6 week check up.
I would not let this study influence your decision. :)

[Naranjadia]

I had to chop off the end of the link to get it to work. Try this:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122267095/abstract

I tried finding the full article in our university article databases, but they don't subscribe to the journal.

Here's from the abstract:

"Of women in groups A, B, C, D, and E, 72 (42.6%), 62 (37.1%), 54 (32.7%), 108 (64.3%), and 64 (38.3%) resumed sexual intercourse (SI) within 8 weeks after delivery. "

The groups are:
"group A, spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD) without injuries (group SVD, N = 184); group B, vaginal delivery with episiotomy (VDE) or perineal laceration (group VDE, N = 182); group C, operative vaginal delivery (OVD) (instrumental delivery) (group OVD, N = 180), group D, planned cesarean section (PCS) (group PCS, N = 182); and group E, emergency cesarean section (ECS) (group ECS, N = 184)."

[kijip]

I have had two c-sections. I will say that to me, with my hormone levels and the havoc a new child brings, 8 weeks postpartum to have sexual intercourse is just not on my radar. Not in the least. Resuming sexual activity and the return of normal enjoyment from sexual activity are two VERY different things.

[mamicka]

My B.S. meter is going off. Looking at the abstract, it says they got their information 8-weeks post-partum, and yet they refer to the period as "long-term." 8 weeks post-partum is long term??!

:yeahthat: 8 weeks is long term? LOL!

[m448]

aside from the 8 weeks issue this population is from hospital/OB vaginal births which tend to be a higher population of women with interventions (pushing on back, vacuum/forceps, drug augementation, etc.) that would also predispose one to a tougher healing period.

Having said that, even with my homebirth 8 weeks is still a period of adjustment to the new baby and while my hormones were rearin' to go I as a whole person was not. I'm also calling this a poorly done and ill motivated study.

[SnuggleBuggles]

TMI ahead...No issues here. No complaints from dh either- and I have asked. We got back on track about 5w after ds1 and 3w after ds2 (with the ok from CNM on both occasions).

Beth

[kdeunc]

TMI ahead...No issues here. No complaints from dh either- and I have asked. We got back on track about 5w after ds1 and 3w after ds2 (with the ok from CNM on both occasions).

Beth
Can I just say that I think my DH would love you! I tried to get my OB to push it to 6 months! :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

Can I just say that I think my DH would love you! I tried to get my OB to push it to 6 months! :)

TMI again but I was dying to get back to it both times. I must be some sort of freak. I was ready to go from day 1 after ds2 but knew I needed to wait.

Beth

[daisymommy]

Whatever :rolleye0014: After having 2 kids I can say for sure that sex is better now than it was before hand. Sorry if this is TMI, but before kids, things were so "tight" that it was just plain uncomfortable, and sometimes painful. Now everything "fits" much better ;)

And for anyone who wonders, DH agrees :shy:

But yeah, 8 weeks? Are they out of their mind? Ask them again at 6 months!

[JMS]

Ok, TMI disclosure, but I think that after each child (all three were born vaginally) the sex has gotten better and better. My feeling is that I'm just more in tune with my body. DH laughs at me every time I ask but repeatedly reassures me it still feels just as great. :)

[MamaMolly]

snip...I tried finding the full article in our university article databases, but they don't subscribe to the journal...snip

That says it all for me. ;)

[MontrealMum]

I tried finding the full article in our university article databases, but they don't subscribe to the journal.
I tried again and found it, surprisingly...considering that the discussion was a fraction of the entire article and the conclusion is 2 sentences long, I'm not too impressed.

Of course, I don't need an article to tell me how I feel :D

[lizajane]

i think maybe birth is what leads to less fullfillment for moms and dads. or adoption. no need to give birth to have children suck the energy outta ya. ;)

[lizajane]

Ok, TMI disclosure, but I think that after each child (all three were born vaginally) the sex has gotten better and better. My feeling is that I'm just more in tune with my body. DH laughs at me every time I ask but repeatedly reassures me it still feels just as great. :)

if you could please write a book about EXACTLY how that works, that's be great and i sure would appreciate it.

[MontrealMum]

deleted.......

[mytwosons]

TMI...but I think sex is better after. It's like some nerve endings got switched on. DH was surprised that everything felt great to him since everyone (i.e. mainstream media) portraits things as being really stretched out afterward.

[maydaymommy]

I think I'll stick with my plan to try for the VBAC!

[jent]

8 weeks post-partum is long term??!

OK, this study was _definitely_ designed by men.

And I definitely think that at 8 weeks, it's more about sleep deprivation than which part of your body the baby made his/her final exit from.

[zephyr]

I had some issues after my delivery with ds, but I can honestly say that I have much more "feeling" down there and it feels waaaaay better than before.

[Melaine]

While we are all chatty, here's my TMI comment: I had a C-section and our sex life is about 100 times better than it was before my pregnancy. I honestly think those two kids kicking around in there somehow knocked something back into place or something.

Maybe I'll do a study on THAT.

And yeah, 8 weeks....PUHLEEZE.

[JamiMac]

I found the same thing. Things are much better now, even after three vaginal births. I'm a small person and also had the "tightness" problem, and that is not the case anymore. In fact, it's better after the third birth than the first two. I had a tough recovery time after birth 1 and birth 3 (not so with #2 for some reason) but that went away by about 3 months. TMI, but DH says it's better now, too. :shy:

[JMS]

While we are all chatty,


I love this chattiness :)

Here's a little more TMI: My chattiness extends to all aspects of my life. After a typical roll in the hay, I lay there and tell DH how perfect it all was, blah, blah, blah. To which he typically says very little (he's definitely happy, just not nearly as happy-chatty as me). Finally I can't help but ask, "it doesn't feel like a tube sock now does it." He usually says something like, "no it's perfect JMS"... ... and that's my funny story for tonight: he calls me by my user name :) It's funny to me!

Ok.. I'm calling it a night :)

[Melaine]

That's hilarious! DH calls me by my username too, but he did that before I made it my username.

Tube sock!:hysterical: