Communication About Sexual Matters With Women Attending a Danish Fertility Clinic: A Descriptive Study

Several studies have shown that sexuality is an important aspect of life. Nevertheless, sexual matters are only rarely discussed between patients and doctors. Other studies have suggested that women undergoing fertility treatment compose a group of patients with low satisfaction in their sexual life.

To investigate how women at a fertility clinic desire and experience communication about sexual matters with doctors and to investigate the sexual function of these women.

A cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire survey of women attending a Danish fertility clinic over 4 months was performed. Descriptive statistics were calculated and presented as frequencies.

Communication about sexual matters with doctors included the women's comfort, preferred and actual frequency of discussion, and initiation of the conversation. Sexual function included participants' sexuality during the past year including certain sexual difficulties.

Of the 201 participating women in the survey, most felt comfortable discussing sexual matters with doctors and preferred gynecologists for such discussions. There was a greater desire for communication than what was actually experienced by the women, and most wanted to initiate the conversation themselves. The women were less satisfied with their sexual life compared with a national control group, and they experienced sexual difficulties more often.

There is an unmet desire of women in fertility treatment for discussing sexual matters, and greater communication on this subject needs to be clinically implemented. Eldridge KE, Giraldi A. Communication About Sexual Matters With Women Attending a Danish Fertility Clinic. A Descriptive Study. Sex Med 2017;5:e196-e202.