Correlation between depressive symptoms and sexual dysfunction in postpartum women during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relation between sexual function and depressive symptoms in puerperal women during the pandemic period. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort with 125 women evaluated in the immediate postpartum period (before the pandemic - T1) in Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, 3 months (pandemic onset - T2) and 6 months (pandemic peak - T3) after birth by email and WhatsApp. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) were applied. RESULTS: Fifty puerperal women participated in the three periods of the study. The median age was 25 years. There was an inverse correlation between the ​​ FSFI and EPDS values at T2 (p < 0.001) and T3 (p < 0.001), demonstrating that the worsening sexual response was secondary to the higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in the puerperium in the COVID-19 pandemic. There was an increase in EPDS scores in the three periods: at T1, the EPDS scores ​​were 5.0 (2.0−9.0), increasing to 7.0 (4.0−14.0) at T2 and 6.5 (3.0−13.0) at T3 (p = 0.004). There was no difference between the FSFI index at the three evaluated times. CONCLUSIONS: Puerperal women are a susceptible subgroup for sexual dysfunction and depressive symptoms, which are correlated to each other and worsen in periods of stress, therefore, it is mandatory to investigate depressive symptoms in puerperal women with sexual complaints, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.