(054) Sexual and Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum: Impact of a Brief Mindfulness-Based Intervention

Introduction Introduction: Pregnancy and postpartum bring substantial physical, psychological, and relational challenges for women and couples. Especially in late pregnancy, many women report distressing difficulties such as low desire, orgasm problems, or pain during sexual activity. These problems often persist postpartum and may negatively affect psychological well-being and relationship quality. While preliminary evidence suggests mindfulness-based interventions can reduce subclinical sexual difficulties, such approaches have not yet been studied in pregnant women. Objective Objective: Our goal was to investigate the impact of a brief mindfulness intervention on women’s sexual function at the end of pregnancy, and 8 weeks and 6 months after childbirth. Methods Methods: A total of n = 804 women (Mage = 31.4, SD = 4.9) were randomly assigned at 32 weeks of pregnancy to one of three conditions: mindfulness (intervention), behavioral activation (active control), or no intervention (passive control). Assessments were conducted at 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, and 8 weeks and 6 months postpartum. The primary outcome was sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index, total score). Secondary outcomes included sexual satisfaction, sexual distress, partnered sexual activity, body image, and depressive symptoms. Interventions comprised a 4-minute psychoeducation video, a digital brochure, and daily 15-minute exercises over 2 weeks. Data were analyzed with linear mixed-effects models including random intercepts. Results Results: Sexual functioning improved significantly over time across all groups, with the largest increases from baseline to later postpartum follow-ups. No condition × time effects were observed, indicating improvements were not specific to mindfulness. Sensitivity analyses using stricter adherence criteria (e.g., active engagement or passing comprehension quizzes) yielded similar results. Over time, sexual distress decreased, while sexual satisfaction and sexual activity increased, again without condition-specific effects. Depressive symptoms showed small, inconsistent reductions. Conclusions Conclusions: Women’s sexual functioning, distress, satisfaction, and activity showed meaningful improvements from late pregnancy to the postpartum period, but these changes occurred regardless of intervention condition. This pattern suggests that natural recovery and adaptation processes drive postpartum sexual health improvements. For sexual medicine, these findings highlight the importance of distinguishing intervention effects from spontaneous improvement and underscore the need of developing targeted, evidence-based interventions that address persistent sexual difficulties after childbirth. Disclosure Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: GAIA AG