Background: sexual function plays an important role in strengthening the marital relationship. Sexual issue is one of important component in quality of life studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sexual function and quality of life of Iranian postpartum women. Methods: This was cross-sectional, descriptive study. The study sample included 380 postpartum women referred to 10 urban health centers in West of Iran. The study participants were recriuted using randomized cluster sampling. The tools for data collection included a checklist of socio- individual and maternal status of women, Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and SF-36 questionnaire. Data were analysied using SPSS version 15. Results: The study findings showed most of participants (n=290, 76.3%) had sexual dysfunction. The most prevalent sexual dysfunction was related to sexual desire (79%). Also, the majority of women had moderate scores in most of SF-36 subscales. The women with higher FSFI scores had significantly higher scores in all of SF-36 subscales. The Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that there were positive and significant linear corrlation between women general health and all dimensions of FSFI (except for pain during sex). Conclusion: According to the study findings sexual dysfunction in the postpartum period could adversly affect women’s quality of life. Sexual problems are very common in the postpartum period but not reported in most of cases. In this regard, designing appropriate programs by health care providers such as, extended postpartum councselling is required.
