Prevalence of sexual dysfunction and associated demographic factors among postpartum women in Rivers State

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and associated demographic factors among postpartum women in Rivers State. The study adopted descriptive research design with a population consisting of 2,670,903 postpartum women in Rivers State. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select a sample size of 1,200. Data were collected using an adapted questionnaire titled “Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)” with a reliability coefficient of 0.85. The data collected were analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 using linear regression at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study showed that the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among postpartum women in Rivers State was very high (98.0%); and that there existed statistically significant relationship between age (r = 0.91; p<0.05), and parity (r = 0.85; p<0.05). It was concluded that sexual dysfunction among postpartum women in Rivers State was traceable to demographic characteristics such as age and parity. It was recommended that, community stakeholders should liaise with the primary healthcare providers under the federal parastatals to make provision for aged women with sexual health challenges, providing medical equipment to check their sexual organs from time to time.