WOMEN’S ISSUES: PARENTING AND SEXUAL FUNCTION
Craig Alexander, PhD • Marcalee Sipski, MD

As part of several new clinical trials in SCI rehabilitation at the Miami Project and with our continued goal of improving quality of life following SCI, Drs. Alexander and Sipski have designed various studies to address women’s issues. One issue relates to the impact that SCI has on child rearing, family division of labor, and decision making. Via a postal survey, data from mothers with SCI was collected and analyzed. The results indicate that in families of SCI mothers, the division of household and childcare tasks were more equally shared with their partners than in families with able-bodied mothers.

In laboratory-based studies to characterize the impact of SCI on sexual function, these investigators recorded the subjective, genital, and physiological responses of women with SCI as well as their ability to achieve orgasm. In women with complete paralysis and damage affecting the S2-S5 spinal nerves, only 17% were able to achieve orgasm; in other levels and degrees of injury, 59% could achieve orgasm. Studies like these help in our understanding of the neurophysiology of sexual response in women with SCI, a topic that until recently has been left unstudied. Their data will assist in the development of appropriate techniques to improve sexual responsiveness and will be of value in educating women about their choices for optimum sexual function.