Longitudinal Links Between Perinatal Grief and Sexual Well-Being for Couples After Pregnancy Loss

Pregnancy loss disrupts couples’ sexual well-being, which is crucial to health and relationship quality, yet it is unclear what predicts sexual well-being postloss. Symbolic interactionism theory and prior literature point to perinatal grief as one potential predictor. Thus, our objective was to examine how perinatal grief of either couple member relates longitudinally to both couple members’ sexual well-being after a pregnancy loss. We conducted multilevel structural equation modeling assessing whether fluctuations in perinatal grief were associated with fluctuations in sexual well-being for oneself and a partner among 109 couples who experienced a pregnancy loss in the past 4 months and who completed four monthly surveys. We also tested whether those with the highest average perinatal grief had the lowest average sexual well-being. When either partner reported greater than typical perinatal grief, both couple members reported lower than typical sexual satisfaction and sexual desire, and higher than typical sexual function problems and sexual distress. Those with the highest average perinatal grief had the lowest average sexual satisfaction and highest average sexual function problems and sexual distress. Higher perinatal grief may be a risk factor for lower sexual well-being. Couples who grieve effectively postloss may better manage sexual challenges. Practitioners can screen couples for perinatal grief as they assess impacts to sexuality, refer them to grief resources to promote sexual well-being, and invite them to discuss how meanings around sex may have changed postloss.