OBJECTIVE: To identify possible changes in the sexuality patterns of women who have high-risk infants in the first six months postpartum. METHODS: A cohort study of 193 mothers of high-risk infants born between May and October of 2008, who were included in the Newborn Risk Surveillance Program in Maringá (Paraná, Brasil). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews during two home visits (at 45 days and six months postpartum). RESULTS: Among these participants, 45.8% and 26.3% indicated that their sexuality patterns were worse than before pregnancy at 45 days and six months after delivery, respectively. There was no association between sexuality patterns and any variable at 45 days; at six months post-delivery, associations with complications in pregnancy (p = 0.0259) and living with a partner (p = 0.0093) were identified. CONCLUSION: Mothers of high-risk infants, especially those who experienced complications during pregnancy, require multidisciplinary, long-term monitoring of sexuality patterns
Sexuality; Postpartum period; Women's health; Libido
