Half of reproductive-age women in S'pore have poor sexual function

KKH's multi-ethnic survey also finds that most of these women are not aware of the symptoms of sexual health issues and tend not to broach them with their doctors

- Stephanie Yeo Senior Correspondent

When Ms Aisyah (not her real name), 30, could not consummate her marriage in 2022, she and her husband knew that "something was wrong".

They searched online and found out about vaginismus, a condition in which the vagina tightens involuntarily, preventing penetration.

Thinking it could be psychological, the couple sought help at a public hospital. Ms Aisyah tried dilator therapy, which involves using medical tools to help stretch vaginal tissue. She also learnt to desensitise her feelings of fear around sex, which was a taboo topic growing up.

The couple was promptly discharged after they managed penetration once.

She and her husband, 31, later visited a pelvic floor physiotherapist and a sexual health counsellor, without success.

"One-and-a-half years into the journey, we didn't know why it was still so difficult to have sexual intercourse. Nobody had the right answers," says Ms Aisyah, who works in healthcare.

She tried starting conversations about sexual health with her friends of different races and faiths, but they were too shy to open up.

"When I did speak up about it to my friends, I realised that some of them might have had experiences with vaginismus but they didn't know they were going through it," she adds.

While sex may seem like an instinctive act, Ms Aisyah's challenges are more common than one might think, with many women facing difficulties raising such issues with doctors and healthcare professionals.

Among women of reproductive age in Singapore, more than half (54 per cent) had poor sexual function, according to a 2024 study by KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) that polled 787 women aged 21 to 45 online.

These included challenges with desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain.