Pregnancy and sexuality: From concept to nursing approaches in perspective

Sexuality is a lifelong biopsychosocial concept that is affected by 
the attitudes, behaviors and thoughts of people and is shaped by the 
society in which they live. This concept varies according to the life 
periods of the person. Pregnancy is one of these life stages. During 
pregnancy, a woman tries to adapt to the changes that occur in her 
body from a physiological point of view, to adapt to motherhood and 
pregnancy from a psychosocial point of view, and to adapt to new 
roles. In this adaptation process, problems such as physiological 
complaints, disliking the appearance, thinking that pregnancy will 
change their life greatly, seeing pregnancy as an obstacle, decrease 
in sexual desire and ending sexual life can be experienced. The most 
effective way to deal with the lack of information, false information and 
myths, which are the main causes of these problems, is counseling. 
The evaluation of sexuality during pregnancy should be handled with 
a holistic perspective and with the participation of the spouses. The 
couple should be made to express their complaints, and they should 
be asked with detailed questions about how pregnancy feels, what 
it changes, what is received positively and negatively, how it affects 
sexuality, and their expectations and experiences. The problem with 
the answers given should be identified and a solution should be offered. 
The continuity of the counseling service is important in order to prevent 
the sexuality of pregnant women from being adversely affected and 
to cope with the problems. However, not only physiological changes, 
but also the changes created by pregnancy should be addressed in 
the training given in pregnant schools.