Finally, A Study About Postpartum Sex Drive That Doesn’t Just Focus On Moms
I know I’m sick of hearing the anecdotes of “how long” a partner has to wait for sex after a child is born. I’m also sick of the jokes about how a mom’s boobs don’t belong to her partner anymore, but rather her child. Am I the only one? My boobs are mine, thank you very much. The insinuation that a partner is just waiting on his or her sexless spouse to become ready for intimacy again is pretty ridiculous. According to research published this week in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the stress of childbirth must have a bearing on a partner’s postpartum sexual response as well:
“We found that, like birth mothers, fathers and co-mothers experience sexual highs and lows during the postpartum,” said lead author Sari van Anders, an assistant professor of psychology and women’s studies at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. “High sexual desire in co-parents at this time was influenced not only by sexual interest, but also feelings of intimacy. Low desire was influenced not by partner disinterest or breast-feeding status, as more typically assumed, but by fatigue and stress.”
Research about postpartum sexual relationships has typically focused on the mother – concentrating on hormonal changes or her body’s healing process. But this survey revealed that “factors related to child care and personal intimacy mattered more to sexual interest than any physical or hormonal changes endured by the birth mother.”
“Researchers have typically focused on birth mothers as a negative influence on their male partner’s sexual desire, maybe due to breast-feeding, lack of interest or postpartum vaginal issues,” van Anders said. “In contrast to these assumptions, our empirical work demonstrated that co-parents — including men and women — experience low desire after childbirth because of fatigue, stress and [lack] of free time.”
It’s about time. Maybe we can finally put the myth of the sexless new mom to rest, and realize that bringing a new baby into the world affects the sex drives of everyone involved.
(photo: Karlova Irina/ Shutterstock)