Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2026; 16(10): 121035
Published online Oct 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.121035
Published online Oct 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.121035
Analysis the mediating effect of pelvic floor muscle strength recovery on sexual function and depression in postpartum women
Teng-Fei Zhao, Yang-Yang Li, Hui-Xue Liu, Lin Liu, Rui-Zhi He, Chong-Xin Tong, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hebei Province Children’s Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China
Co-first authors: Teng-Fei Zhao and Yang-Yang Li.
Author contributions: Zhao TF and Li YY contributed equally to this study as co-first authors, including research design, data collection, statistical analysis, and manuscript writing; Tong CX was responsible for project guidance, quality control, and final revision of the manuscript; Liu HX, Liu L, and He RZ participated in data collection and literature review. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: The authors declare that no AI or AI-assisted technologies (including but not limited to ChatGPT, Grammarly, DeepL, or automated data analysis software) were utilized during the study design, data analysis, manuscript writing, language editing, or illustration generation of this manuscript. The entire content was prepared solely by the human authors.
Supported by Medical Science Research Project of Hebei Province, No. 20220751.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Hebei Province Children’s Hospital (approval No. 202136).
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Chong-Xin Tong, Chief Physician, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hebei Province Children’s Hospital, No. 133 Jianhua South Street, Shijiazhuang 050000, Hebei Province, China. youxiang1631202409@163.com
Received: April 22, 2026
Revised: May 21, 2026
Accepted: June 22, 2026
Published online: October 19, 2026
Processing time: 171 Days and 0.1 Hours
Revised: May 21, 2026
Accepted: June 22, 2026
Published online: October 19, 2026
Processing time: 171 Days and 0.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study included 130 postpartum women to explore the mediating effect of pelvic floor muscle strength recovery (PFMSR) on sexual function (assessed by Female Sexual Function Index) and depressive symptoms (assessed by Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale). The results showed that the PFMSR played a partial mediating role, accounting for 33.60% of the total effect, suggesting the need for clinical attention to the PFMSR and psychological screening for postpartum women’s physical and mental recovery.