Couples & Sexual Health Lab • Dalhousie University, Halifax • 2024-07
We are seeking couples from the 2SLGBTQAI* communities who are up to 32 weeks pregnant, to participate in the iSTORK pilot study (i.e., first trial): Supporting the Transition to Parenthood through Online Sex and Relationship Knowledge.
STORK is the first online couple-based program designed to enhance knowledge about changes to sexuality during pregnancy and postpartum and skills to cope with these changes. STORK was designed to strengthen couples’ relationships across the transition to parenthood.
For new parents, maintaining a romantic relationship while caring for a newborn baby is challenging. Throughout the transition to parenthood (TtP), couples often experience changes to their sexual well-being including lower sexual desire and sexual satisfaction, and more sexual distress.
There are few interventions available to help couples overcome changes to their sexual well-being during the TtP with none addressing the needs of 2SLGBTQIA+ parents.
After giving birth, over 90% of new parents report more than 10 sexual concerns, such as less time and energy for sex and larger differences in sexual desire between partners. Promoting sexual well-being during this transition is important, as sexual well-being is strongly related to health and quality of life. In particular, sexual-well-being has been linked to lower post-baby anxiety, depression, and stress, and is one of the top 5 factors which predict long-term relationship satisfaction.
Although 2SLGBTQIA+ parents are likely to share these challenges, they also have unique experiences, such as the use of reproductive technologies, higher rates of discrimination from healthcare providers, and dissatisfaction with the quality of healthcare they receive, which is linked to their perceptions that clinicians lack knowledge of their specific health needs and abilities to provide gender affirming care. New parents report that they want information about sexual changes during the TtP but access to reliable information is not widely available.
📅 What is involved: You and your partner will complete the 5 online modules in pregnancy (1 per week) and a final module at 2 months postpartum. You will also complete 3 surveys—1 pre-program, 1 after the 5th module, and 1 post-program—that gather information about your relationship, your pregnancy experience, your child, and your feedback on the STORK program, including how inclusive or relevant it is to your growing family. At the end of STORK, we will also you to share your experiences with the program in an interview (conducted virtually).
💰 Compensation: As a thank you for your participation, you can receive $63 CAD or currency equivalent ($126 CAD or currency equivalent per couple). Your time is valuable to us!
🌈 Inclusivity matters: STORK requires one member of the couple to be currently pregnant. Otherwise, STORK is open to individuals of all genders, bodies, and sexual orientations. We are specifically interested in understanding how sexual and gender/sex diverse couples experience the STORK program!
💌 For more information or to participate in the STORK pilot study contact us at iSTORK@dal.ca.
