Postpartum sexuality: Can medical and healthcare professionals advise new mothers from a strengths-based, sex positive perspective?

分娩可能会产生强烈的心理和生理影响（McDonald等人，2018），这通常会对女性的自我意识和心理健康产生显著的负面影响，包括产后抑郁症（Woolhouse等人，2014）。伴侣也会经历情绪变化，高达50%的新父亲报告父亲抑郁症（Beck，2001）。此外，分娩后，夫妇通常在一起的时间更少，经历更多的冲突，性活跃度降低，婚姻和性满意度下降（Delicate et al，2018）。缺乏亲密关系，包括缺乏性生活和感官生活，以及不忠可能导致父母早期阶段的关系破裂（Ahlborg et al，2008）。尽管如此，一些妇女报告产后亲密关系改善（Olsson et al，2005）和性活动增加（威廉姆森et al，2008）。利用定性方法，本研究将探讨产后性行为的主观生活体验（妇女及其伴侣），以及这对心理健康和关系满意度的影响。随着社会政策中的“关系转向”，人们越来越意识到低质量关系或关系破裂对儿童结果的负面影响以及与此相关的国家成本增加（Marjoribanks和Davies，2016），这项研究旨在探索性亲密在促进和维持父母身份的积极转变中的作用。基于在关键过渡点（科万和科万，2018年）针对政策和实践干预措施的建议，这项研究将为助产士，社会工作者，医疗顾问和性与关系治疗师的工作提供信息。

Giving birth can have intense psychological and physiological effects (McDonald et al, 2018) which often significantly negatively impact womens' sense of self and mental health, including postnatal depression (Woolhouse et al, 2014). Partners also experience emotional changes with up to 50% of new fathers reporting paternal depression (Beck, 2001). Moreover, after childbirth couples typically spend less time together, experience more conflict, are less sexually active and experience a decline in marital and sexual satisfaction (Delicate et al, 2018). Lack of intimacy, including lack of sexual and sensual life, and infidelity can contribute to relationship breakdown in the early stages of parenthood (Ahlborg et al, 2008). Despite this, some women report improvements to intimacy (Olsson et al, 2005) and increased sexual activity (Williamson et al, 2008) postpartum. Utilizing qualitative methods this study will explore the subjective lived experience of postpartum sexuality (for women and their partners) and the perceived impact this has on mental well-being and relationship satisfaction. Following the 'relational turn' in social policy which has arisen in response to growing awareness of the negative impact of poor quality relationships or relationship breakdown on children's outcomes and the increased costs to the state associated with this (Marjoribanks and Davies, 2016), this research aims to explore the role of sexual intimacy in promoting and sustaining a positive transition to parenthood. Building on recommendation to target policy and practice interventions at key transition points (Cowan and Cowan, 2018), this research will inform the work of midwifes, social workers, healthcare advisors and sex and relationship therapists.