What does a pregnancy loss mean for sex?

By David Allsop This blog is a summary of our published article: Allsop, D. B., Huberman, J. S., Cohen, E., Bagnell, K. B., Péloquin, K., Cockwell, H., & Rosen, N. O. (2023). What does a pregnancy loss mean for sex? Comparing sexual well-being between couples with and without a recent loss. Archives of Sexual Behavior, […]

Changes to sexual function and distress in the transition to parenthood

By Malia Artibello This blog is a summary of our published article: Tavares, I. M., Rosen, N. O., Heiman, J. R., & Nobre, P. J. (2023). Biopsychosocial predictors of couples’ trajectories of sexual function and sexual distress across the transition to parenthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(4), 1493–1511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02480-8 The transition to parenthood (pregnancy to […]

Does sex lead to well-being?

By Heather Oliveria Couples skipping in the streets, whistling, and smelling the roses are a few of the ways that media portrays the after-effects of sex. Although exaggerated, those examples resonate with us. Despite our familiarity with images of happy people with lifted moods post-sex, there has been little research examining how sex contributes to […]

Are new parents less stressed when they’re more sexually satisfied?

By Inês Tavares This blog is a summary of our published article: Tavares, I. M., Nobre, P. J., Schlagentweit, H., & Rosen, N. O. (2019). Sexual well-being and perceived stress in couples transitioning to parenthood: A dyadic analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2019.07.004 After the birth of their first baby, new parents usually have a lot […]

How is sexual health attained and maintained?

By Justin Dubé Though I’d like to think the studies I run facilitate sexual health, translating research into practice can take a loooong time (17 years!) [1]. Also, people generally want to manage their sexual health by speaking with a clinician [2, 3]. Clinicians, however, often feel ill-equipped to navigate these conversations due to gaps […]

Am I digisexual?

by Sam Dawson At the most recent meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research (see https://sstarnet.org) Dr. Markie Twist gave a fascinating plenary on digisexuality, based on a recent article entitled: The rise of digisexuality: Therapeutic challenges and possibilities (McArthur & Twist, 2017). So, what is digisexuality and could this apply to you? […]

Becoming Four (Or More!): Consensual Non-Monogamy and Parenthood

Photo Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-passion-paradox/201208/what-are-peoples-perceptions-open-relationships By: Meghan Rossi One of the main research programs in the Couples and Sexual Health Laboratory is exploring how new parents manage changes to their romantic and sexual relationship when they first become parents. We know that this period is full of both excitement and challenges for couples (see blog posts 1, […]

Page Turner! Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy by Hallie Lieberman

A brief book review by Kat Merwin The book: Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy Author: Hallie Lieberman, Ph.D. I like to think of myself as relatively knowledgeable about sex researchers—especially those who also write books on the topic—yet I hadn’t heard of Hallie Lieberman prior to reading this book. After reading this […]

How does sexuality before pregnancy affect sexuality during and after pregnancy?

  By Jaimie Beveridge Perhaps unsurprisingly, research has found that many women experience changes to their sexuality and sexual relationship during pregnancy and the postpartum period [1]. These changes can include: decreases in how often women desire and engage in sex, decreases in their ability to get aroused and wet and orgasm during sex, decreases […]