MARITAL ADJUSTMENT AND SEXUALITY AFTER PARENTHOOD IN HETEROSEXUAL COUPLES WHO UNDERWENT ASSISTED REPRODUCTION TECHNIQUES.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of parenthood after FIV/ICSI (success of ART or adoption) on the marital adjustment and the sexuality of heterosexual couples. It is a cross-sectional study that included all the heterosexual couples that had their last attempt of ART between January to May 2009 at our fertility clinic. The couples had 2 evaluations sessions one in 2009 and one 10 years after the end of their last ART cycle. They completed self-report questionnaires. We investigated marital adjustment with the Marital Adjustment Test, male sexual function with the International Index of Erectile function and female sexual function with the Female Sexual function Index. Starting with 100 couples, after 10 years 48 were still included in the study. Twenty-six couples were parenting at the time of the study (after 2 spontaneous pregnancies, 16 successful ART or 8 adoptions) and 18 were childless, 3 divorced and a woman died from breast cancer. The two groups were comparable in terms of age, socioeconomic characteristics, marriage duration, infertility duration, ART characteristics, anxiety and depression. Marital adjustment and sexual function scores were lower in the childless groups either in men or women but the differences were not statistically lower in childless couples in terms of sexual disfunctions. The differences were not significant also between adopting and non adopting parents in terms of sexual dysfunctions and marital adjustment. Our results suggest that parenthood does not impact significatively the marital relationship nor the sexuality in heterosexual couples 10 years after their last attempt of ART.