Dyspareunia and childbirth: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Almost all women experience dyspareunia during the first sexual intercourse following childbirth. The relationship between mode of delivery, perineal trauma, and other obstetric risk factors is poorly understood. Previous studies examining this relationship lacked long-term follow-up data and have a number of other methodological limitations. The aim of this multicenter, prospective cohort study was to investigate the relationship between obstetric risk factors, including mode of delivery and perineal trauma, and postpartum dyspareunia. A total of 1507 nulliparous women, older than 18 years, who were in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy were recruited between April 2003 a..