ABSTRACT
Marital satisfaction is correlated with mental health, general happiness, professional achievements and successful social interactions. It seems that sexual satisfaction is one of the necessities for a healthy and sustainable marital relationship. Some studies have revealed that sexual dissatisfaction is the underlying cause of nearly 80% of marital conflicts, while, some other studies have suggested infertility as one of the key factors affecting sexual satisfaction. This study was undertaken to compare marital and sexual satisfaction in fertile and infertile women. In this cross-sectional analytical study carried out during 2007, one hundred fertile women attending the family planning units of Mashad Urban Health Centers, and one hundred infertile women, attending Montaserieh Infertility Center were chosen by quota sampling. The participants were 22-45 years old and had no extramarital relationships. The fertile women used a contraceptive method but the infertile ones had been unable to conceive a child after a year of regular and unprotected intercourse. The subjects who were willing to participate in the study were asked to complete two sexual satisfaction and general health questionnaires [GHQ28]. There were no significant statistical differences between the fertile or the infertile women regarding the demographic data and the general health status of the participants. Sexual satisfaction was not significantly different between the fertile and infertile groups and both showed average degrees of sexual satisfaction [59.66 +/- 12.23 and 61.65 +/- 11.62, respectively; p=0.24]. Average sexual satisfaction was noted in both fertile and infertile individuals, which depicts the inadequate sexual knowledge of the subjects and insufficient provision of pre- and post-marriage consultations. Holding educational sessions and providing consultations on subjects related to sexual satisfaction is suggested to increase the feeling in couples