The effect of a web-based education program specific to sexual health during pregnancy on sexual life

This randomized controlled experimental mixed-methods study aimed to evaluate the effect of a web-based sexual health education program developed for pregnant women on sexual function and sexual quality of life. The quantitative phase of the study included 35 participants in both the intervention and control groups, while the qualitative phase was conducted with 15 pregnant women. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and the Sexual Quality of Life-Female (SQOL-F) scale, all embedded in a pregnancy- specific sexual health website, through pretest-posttest measurements, as well as semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, R, RStudio, and G*Power. Due to the violation of normality assumptions, non-parametric tests (ART ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis) and appropriate exact tests for categorical data were employed. FSFI and SQOL-F data were analyzed in terms of group, time, and group × time interaction effects, with a significance level set at p < .05. MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020 was used for content analysis of the qualitative data. The intervention group received three educational modules via the website, while the control group received no intervention. Significant improvements were observed in the intervention group in total FSFI scores (p = .013) and in the subdomains of arousal (p = .003), lubrication (p = .001), and orgasm (p = .007). Time effects were significant across all FSFI domains (p < .002), while group × time interaction effects were found in the "desire" (p = .018) domain and were marginally significant in "arousal" (p = .049) and "orgasm" (p = .070). In the intervention group, significant increases were observed in all FSFI domains between T1 and T3 (p < .05), while no significant changes occurred in the control group. Although there was no significant difference in SQOL-F scores between groups (p = .898), time (p < .001) and group × time interaction effects (p = .029) were statistically significant. In conclusion, the web-based sexual health education program specific to pregnancy had a positive and improving effect on sexual life during pregnancy.