Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Nerve-sparing Mid-urethral Obstruction (NeMO) in Female Small Rodents
Published on: April 25, 2017
Sexual function of young women with myelomeningocele
Xavier Gamé1, Jacques Moscovici2, Julien Guillotreau1
1Département d'Urologie, Transplantation Rénale et Andrologie, CHU Rangueil, TSA 50032, 31059 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.
Objectives:
To assess the sexual function of young women with spina bifida and myelomeningocele and to determine the factors influencing their sexual function.
Methods:
A postal cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was performed in 44 women, mean age 27.66 ± 5.89 years, with spina bifida and myelomeningocele. The questionnaire included the Brief Index of Sexual Functioning for Women and questions about voiding mode, urinary symptoms, socioeconomic status, education level, lifestyle, and partnership. In parallel, data were also collected from the paediatric surgery records of patients who returned the questionnaire.
Results:
The response rate was 56.8% (25/44). All domains of female sexual function (thoughts/desires, arousal, frequency of sexual activity, receptivity/initiation, pleasure/orgasm, relationship satisfaction) were altered. Urinary incontinence was likely to be the main factor responsible for altered sexual function and was associated with lower thoughts/desires, arousal, and receptivity/initiation scores. Wearing pads also constituted a limitation to achieving intimacy.
Conclusions:
Young myelomeningocele women report poor sexual functioning. The presence of urinary incontinence is associated with lower thoughts/desire, arousal, and receptivity/initiation.
Related Concept Videos
External Female Genitals
Muscles of the Pelvic Floor and Perineum
Perineal Layer
The perineum is a diamond-shaped area below the pelvic diaphragm, divided into an anterior urogenital triangle that contains the external genitals and a posterior anal triangle housing the anus. The urogenital...
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Genital
Disorders of the Female Reproductive System
Anatomy of the Genitourinary System II: Bladder and Urethra
Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the male...
