HYSTERECTOMY: ISSUES FOR WOMEN AND THEIR SEXUAL PARTNERS
One of the questions many women ask about hysterectomy is the effect of the surgery on their sexuality, sexual interest, satisfaction and response. Because these areas of a woman’s life are usually shared, sexual partners also have an interest in the answers. Information, where available, is included about the impact on sexuality and sexual function of various other types of gynaecological surgery such as the removal of fibroids, and of drug treatments such as those which reduce bleeding.
It is important to note at the outset that studies of sexual behaviour are a relatively recent phenomenon in human history, one reason being that many people have reservations about studying something they regard as intrinsically private. The upshot is that much of the information we have on sexual behaviour comes from groups of volunteers who may not be representative of the population in general. It is important to remember this in drawing conclusions from such studies.
The studies of Alfred Kinsey and his associates in the 1940s and 1950s were more wide-ranging than most studies before or since. His team asked more than 5900 White American women and 5300 White American men about their sexual practices and found, among other things, that women and men reported a decline in sex drive as they got older. Sexual activity in old age was related to sexual activity earlier in life, with those having an active sex life in old age more likely to have been sexually active during their youth and middle years.
Some people place enormous store on maintaining an active sex life into old age, while for others it is neither here nor there. Views on this are diverse, and we do not wish to suggest that sex is a requirement for a happy and satisfying life. People who have no desire for, or interest in, sex or who have deliberately chosen a lifestyle in which sexual activities play little or no part, have every right to their decision. The obverse is also true. Older people who enjoy sex, or who want to enjoy it in a mutually satisfying relationship, should be given information to help them achieve this.
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