《中英對照讀新聞》CLabor may not harm post-pregnancy sexual function 分娩可能不會影響產後性功能

◎鄭寺音

Though some women worry that labor and delivery will harm their sex life after pregnancy, a new study finds no evidence that childbirth itself affects a woman’s long-term sexual function.

雖然一些女性擔心分娩和生產將有損她們產後的性生活，一份新研究發現，沒有證據證明生產本身會影響女性長期的性功能。

Instead, researchers in the Netherlands found, the biggest predictor of a woman’s post-baby sex life was her sex life before the baby.

荷蘭的研究人員反而發現，女性生產後的性生活，最主要的預測指標是在她生小孩前的性生活。

Of the 377 first-time mothers they followed, those who were not having sex early in pregnancy were more likely than other women to still be sex-free when their babies were a year old.

他們追蹤377名首次當媽媽者，其中懷孕初期沒有性行為者，小孩1歲大時，也比其他女性更可能沒有性行為。

H.J. van Brummen and her colleagues at University Medical Center Utrecht report the findings in the obstetrics and gynecology journal BJOG.

烏特勒大學醫學院的布魯曼博士與她的同事在產科醫學與婦科醫學期刊BJOG提出上述報告。

There has been little research into how the type of delivery may affect a woman’s postpartum sexual function, according to van Brummen’s team. However, they note, reports in the "popular media" suggest that many women worry that vaginal delivery will harm their sexual function.

布魯曼團隊說，一直以來對何種分娩可能有損女性產後性功能並沒有太多研究。但他們指出，「流行媒體」的報導顯示，許多女性擔心自然生產可能有損她們的性功能。

And there is some reason for concern, the researchers add. One research review found that vaginal delivery with the use of forceps or vacuum assistance could make sex painful for some time after childbirth.

研究人員補充說，也有一些擔心的理由。一項研究發現，使用助產鉗或真空吸引器來協助生產，女性生產完後一段時間性行為可能感到痛楚。

新聞辭典

labor︰陣痛，分娩。例句：She went into labor at twelve o'clock last night.（她昨晚12點開始陣痛。）

postpartum︰形容詞，產後的。ostpartum depression，產後憂鬱。

vaginal delivery︰自然分娩。vaginal，形容詞，陰道的。剖腹產的英文為：Cesarean section（operation）。