The Effect of Psychoeducational Group Counseling on Postnatall Sexual Intimacy of Lactating Women Referring to Urban Health Centers in Rafsanjan City: An Educational Trial

Background and Objectives: Research suggests that women lose their sexual desire after childbirth, leading to a reduction in couples' sexual intimacy. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of group counseling with a psychological training approach on the sexual propensity of breastfeeding women. Materials and Methods: This study is an educational trial that was conducted in the society of obstetric women of Rafsanjan city in 2018. 70 lactating women were selected from two health centers and divided into two intervention and control groups. At first, both intervention and control groups completed the sexual intimacy questionnaire. Then, the intervention group received 6 educational sessions (one session per week). After the end of the training period, both groups were asked to complete the sexual intimacy questionnaire again. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, independent t-test and single-variable covariance analysis. Results:  The results revealed a significant difference between the mean of sexual intimacy scores between the intervention and control groups in the post-test, which shows the positive effect of group counseling on the sexual intimacy of lactating women in the intervention group (p<0.001). Conclusion: Considering the results of this study that indicate that group counseling has a positive effect on the sexual intimacy of lactating women and leads to increased sexual intimacy, it is recommended that facilities for this period be regularly held for pregnant women in health centers throughout the year. Key words: Sexual intimacy, Postpartum, First delivery women, Psychoeducational group counseling, Rafsanjan   Funding: This research was funded by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Conflict of interest: None declared. Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Kerman University of Medical Sciences approved the study (96000195.rec.kmu.ir).   How to cite this article: Akbarinejad Z, Alidoosti K, Qureshi Z , Asadollahi Z. The Effect of Psychoeducational Group Counseling on Sexual Intimacy of Lactating Women Referring to Urban Health Centers in Rafsanjan City: An Educational Trial. J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2020; 18 (10): 969-84 [Farsi]