Women undergoing IVF are less likely to want sex or be as satisfied in their relationships, a landmark study has found.
The research, from Indiana University, confirmed the stress of treatment often has a negative effect on a couple’s sex life.
The new trial was the first in America to assess women’s thoughts and the sexual health of couples going through assisted reproductive treatments.
Women undergoing IVF had a reduced libido and also reported feeling less satisfied in their relationships in general
Women who were going through IVF had a reduced libido and also reported feeling less satisfied in their relationships in general, the researchers found.
These women were also less likely to orgasm and experience more discomfort during sex. The longer the IVF process continued, the worse the symptoms became.
Study co-author Nicole Smith, a doctoral student in the Centre for Sexual Health Promotion at the university, told the website Medical News Today:
‘Sex is for pleasure and for reproduction, but attention to pleasure often goes by the wayside for people struggling to conceive.
‘Sex is for pleasure and for reproduction, but attention to pleasure often goes by the wayside for people struggling to conceive.
They were also less likely to orgasm and experience more discomfort during sex
'With assisted reproduction technologies, couples often report that they feel like a science experiment, as hormones are administered and sex has to be planned and times. It can become stressful and is often very unromantic and regimented; relationships are known to suffer during the process.’
Indeed, many people trying for a baby have no idea the negative effect it can have on their sex life, says fertility expert and midwife Zita West.
‘Rather than trying to enjoy the experience, love making becomes pressured and mechanical because it’s the ‘right’ time of the month.’
And the effects aren’t just bad for women, either. ‘Many men think they are suffering from ED and poor libido - but it’s not that, it’s just performance anxiety,’ she added.
‘The best thing to do is try and employ some stress management techniques, such as meditation.'
Ms Smith added that women's hormones change dramatically during IVF treatments, which may be a reason for their change in sexual desires.
A recent study said that women’s feelings toward sexual relationships change during different times in their menstrual cycle, probably because of their hormones.
Sexual function among women was the same whether they were receiving IVF for infertility relating to the man, woman or both partners.
The study concluded that couples involved in IVF processes should be told from the beginning about their risks of sexual side effects and methods to improve them.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2225821/IVF-kill-libido--make-happy-relationship.html#ixzz2AuQwPlj6
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