Sociodemographic and Psychological Factors Associated with Female Sexual Dysfunction among Pregnant Women in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Good sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing is important if people are to have responsible, safe and satisfying sex lives. However, studies have demonstrated the adverse effects of pregnancy on sexual desire and satisfaction which may contribute to a decreased number of sexual intercourses. Consequently, this study was carried out to examine the sociodemographic and psychological factors associated with female sexual dysfunction among pregnant women in a Nigerian teaching hospital. Methodology: This analytical and cross-sectional study comprises of 321 pregnant women systematically selected at the gynecological outpatient’s department of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital. A pre-tested, intervieweradministered, semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio- demographic characteristics of the expectant mothers and information on level of sexual dysfunctions was also collected and level of FSD among the respondents were categorized into low, moderate and high level of sexual dysfunctions. The results were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 and P value was set at 5%. Results: Many of the pregnant women studied were in their prime reproductive years. The overall prevalence of FSD was 1.9%, 96.8% and 1.2% low, moderate and high level of sexual dysfunction respectively. Younger women and higher education significantly (p<0.05) associated with lower levels of dysfunction.