Consequences of hysterectomy in the lives of women

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Abstract
A longitudinal study of 63 adult, premenopausal women of low socioeconomic status who underwent hysterectomies is reported. Face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews with the women were conducted on the day before hysterectomy and 4 weeks and 3 months after hysterectomy. After the interview, each woman completed the De‐rogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (Derogatis & Melisaratos, 1979). The Responses to Hysterectomy tool was mailed to the women about 2 years after hysterectomy. Before their hysterectomies, most of the women had both positive and negative feelings about the hysterectomy. By 3 months posthysterectomy, most women had fairly positive general and sexual outcomes. However, by 2 years posthysterectomy, there were less positive outcomes. Most women reported at least sometimes having negative symptoms that they associated with their hysterectomy. More research must be conducted to fully understand the experience of hysterectomy in women's lives.