Determination of the relationship between body perception and sexual life in pregnant women

The pregnancy process, which is a natural crisis for many women, causes physiological, anatomical, biochemical, psychological and emotional changes. These changes affect women's pre-pregnancy body image and post-pregnancy body image perception. Along with the changing body image perception, the harmony and sexual life between the spouses also change. In this study, it was carried out as a descriptive study in order to examine the relationship between body image and sexual life in pregnant women. The research was carried out with 259 pregnant women in Adana City Training and Research Hospital, Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic Non Stress Test Unit. The data were collected with the "Personal Information Form", "The Body Perception Questionnaire During Sexual Intercourse", "The Female Sexual Function Index" and "Self Image Scale". The data was evaluated using the appropriate analysis methods in the "Statistical Package for Social Sciences" (SPSS) for Windows 23.0 statistical package program. It was found that there was a significant difference between the trimesters in the female sexual function levels of the women compared to the pre-pregnancy period, and the sexual function of 53% of the women, 22.1% in the I. trimester, 18.5% in the II. trimester, and 16.1% in the III. trimester, in the pre-pregnancy period. It was observed that the mean female sexual function index score and sexual function well-being decreased significantly as pregnancy increased. As a result of the research, it was observed that the sexual functions of the participants decreased as the gestational months progressed, their satisfaction levels regarding their body perceptions decreased, and the conscious focus and avoidance during sexual intercourse increased. In this context, giving the necessary information to pregnant women about their changing body perceptions and sexual lives can be a solution to the problems that may be experienced. Informing and educating couples about physiological and psychological changes in pregnancy during pregnancy follow-up will contribute to their positive perception of body images and will also positively affect their sexual lives. Key words: Body image, body image, sexuality, sexual function, pregnancy