Women’s intimate and sexual experiences during midlife are shaped by complex biopsychosocial factors, warranting focused attention in research and clinical practice. A hormonal shift in the menopause transition period may cause symptoms such as vaginal dryness, thinned mucosa, and painful intercourse. Other symptoms include decreased libido, and difficulty achieving orgasm during sexual activity. With more women reaching midlife, there is more need to understand how physiology and psychology impact their intimate relationships and overall health. The purpose of this review was to explore published qualitative studies on women’s sexual experiences including function, satisfaction, and challenges during midlife and the menopause continuum. A meta-ethnographic approach was conducted to synthesize all relevant qualitative studies. We searched on the Web of Science, Scopus, and CINAHL for studies published between 2010 and September 2024. Of 1,361 studies identified, 53 studies encompassing diverse cultural contexts met the inclusion criteria and were synthesized. Three main themes were identified: physical symptoms and cultural influences on sexuality during menopause and midlife; emotional, psychological, and relational responses to sexual and bodily changes, including shifts in self-perception, body image, emotional well-being, and relationship dynamics; and adapting to sexual changes during the midlife and menopause transition. The review highlights that biological changes alone are insufficient to fully understand midlife and menopausal women’s sexual experiences, emphasizing the need for a biopsychosocial approach to provide holistic care. Greater attention should be given to midlife women’s sexual health and well-being by raising awareness and encouraging open discussions about menopause and sexual changes. Healthcare professionals play a critical role in recognizing the psychological impacts of these changes and facilitating conversations to help women feel comfortable discussing sensitive topics. The review highlights the need for future research to explore women’s experiences of menopause and sexual health and well-being across diverse cultural contexts, with particular attention to non-Western countries where such perspectives remain underrepresented.

Objectives: This study aims to understand Saudi women's experiences of sexual and relational changes during the menopause transition. Design: A qualitative, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis study. Methods: Sixteen Saudi women aged 45–57 who had experienced natural menopause transition were purposively selected and interviewed using semi‐structured interviews between December 2022 and March 2023. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participants were recruited from several sites, including hospitals, gender‐segregated schools employing female staff, and social media channels. The data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results: Three group experiential themes were identified from the data. These included ‘The intimate relationship while going through menopause’, which explores women's experiences of intimate relationships shaped by biological and hormonal changes, cultural and social expectations, and psychological influences; ‘Perceived attractiveness and self‐confidence’, which describes how physical signs of ageing impact women's body image and self‐confidence; and ‘Managing the sexual changes during the menopause transition’, which highlights varied coping strategies and attitudes toward seeking support for sexual changes during menopause. Conclusion: Healthcare systems in Saudi Arabia must provide comprehensive menopausal care and train nurses and healthcare providers to consider women's sexual difficulties from a biopsychosocial perspective. Raising Saudi women's awareness of menopausal and sexual issues, as well as mitigating society's stereotypes, is crucial for empowering them to seek help. Practice Implications: Understanding how menopausal women experience sexual and relational changes during their menopause transition is crucial for nurses, as it enables them to provide appropriate care that supports both physical and emotional well‐being. As nurses recognise these experiences, they can offer guidance, reduce stigma, and enhance women's quality of life. Reporting Method: The study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. Patient or Public Contribution: No Patient or Public Involvement.

Menopause is a biological process that occurs in women between the ages of 45 and 55, indicating the end of their natural reproductive years. The menopausal transition usually takes place while women are in work, and difficult symptoms can impact their self‐perceived work performance, productivity, and impaired job capability. In Turkey, there is no qualitative research on the impact of menopausal symptoms in the workplace. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the way in which menopausal symptoms can influence the professional lives of working women by investigating their experiences and coping strategies in the workplace. A qualitative study design using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted with 10 employed, postmenopausal women aged 49 to 61, who shared both their current and past experiences of how menopause influenced their working lives. Through the IPA analysis, four key themes were identified: Menopause and Professional Life; Menopause and Work Performance; Workplace Invisibility of Menopause; Navigating Menopause as a Social and Personal Transition. This study posits that the experience of menopause is individualized for each woman, as evidenced by the unique variations in the onset of symptoms, severity of symptoms, duration and severity of symptoms, and the impacts of this transitional phase. According to the results, menopause is not solely a biological transition; rather, it is a multifaceted and intricate experience that affects a woman’s identity, emotional well‐being, social relationships, and professional status. Consequently, future studies should investigate the intricate consequences of menopause on several facets of women’s lives, including identity and social interactions, to provide a more thorough comprehension of its implications.

Purpose: To gain an in-depth understanding of Saudi women’s experiences of traumatic childbirth that occurred at any point within the previous five years. Methods: A qualitative study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, an idiographic approach supporting in-depth exploration of lived experience. Fifteen women who had experienced traumatic childbirth occurring at any point within the previous five years were recruited through social media and publicly accessible locations frequented by women. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between January and March 2026. The data were analysed following the steps of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore women’s lived experiences in depth. Results: Three experiential themes were identified: Experiencing distressing childbirth; living with the emotional aftermath; and the lasting impact of birth trauma on motherhood. These findings highlight the substantial impact of traumatic birth on women’s lives and suggest enduring psychological and relational consequences, particularly when care is perceived as dismissive. Conclusion: There is a need for maternity care to be delivered in a respectful, woman-centred, and supportive manner to reduce the occurrence and impact of traumatic birth experiences. Insight into women’s birth experiences can inform the development of interventions to prevent birth trauma and reduce its consequences within the Saudi healthcare system.

Childhood emotional abuse and neglect (CEAN) are adverse experiences that are often underrecognized for their long-lasting impacts on health. Despite research having demonstrated a link between childhood adversity and diabetes, the association between CEAN and the timing of diabetes diagnosis, along with their sociodemographic patterns, remains poorly understood. This cross-sectional survey collected data on CEAN from 306 Saudi individuals diagnosed with diabetes. Employing a culturally modified version of the self-report Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form, the severity of CEAN was evaluated using composite scores (none, moderate, or severe) derived from the questionnaire items. Chi-square tests were used to examine associations among abuse severity, sociodemographic variables, and age at diagnosis, with Cramér’s V calculated to determine the effect size. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to adjust for potential confounders. Severe emotional abuse was reported by 38.9% of the participants, and severe neglect by 22.2%. Severity levels of both emotional maltreatment and neglect were significantly correlated with sex, age group, marital status, educational attainment, occupation, and age at diagnosis (all P < .05). Greater severity of both emotional abuse and neglect was correlated with an older age at diabetes diagnosis, demonstrating linear trends. CEAN are prevalent among individuals with diabetes and are significantly associated with sociodemographic factors and age at diagnosis. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age and sex, emotional abuse was independently correlated with an earlier age at diabetes diagnosis (adjusted odds ratio = 2.62, 95% confidence interval: 1.25–5.49, P = .011). These findings underscore the enduring impact of early-life emotional adversity on health and highlight the need to incorporate trauma informed and socially responsive strategies in diabetes management and prevention.

Background: Few studies have characterized the patterns and sociodemographic correlates of reported intimate partner violence (IPV) behaviors among people with hypertension. This study characterized IPV among individuals with physician-diagnosed hypertension in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 471 individuals with hypertension from multiple healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia using convenience sampling. IPV was assessed using questions covering physical, emotional/verbal, sexual, and controlling behaviors. “Any reported IPV behavior” was defined as at least one behavior in any domain; domain-specific and multidomain IPV were also examined. The IPV items were not uniformly anchored to a standardized 12-month or lifetime reference period. Sociodemographic differences were assessed using Pearson’s chi-square tests. As complete separation occurred in some categories, Firth’s bias-reduced penalized logistic regression was used for exploratory estimation of crude odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted ORs (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Overall, 278 (59.0%) participants reported at least one assessed IPV behavior. Controlling behavior was reported by 212 participants (45.0%), followed by emotional/verbal (28.2%), physical (26.8%), and sexual IPV (13.0%). Multidomain IPV was reported by 33.8%. IPV was reported by 75.5% of women and 33.5% of men. Men had lower odds of reporting IPV than women (aOR = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.04–0.18). Age-related estimates were unstable because all participants aged 36–49 years reported IPV, resulting in complete separation. Conclusions: Reported IPV behaviors were common in this Saudi sample. Controlling behavior was the most frequently reported domain, and about one-third reported multidomain IPV, indicating the importance of recognizing non-physical forms of IPV among people with hypertension. Larger, representative studies using standardized IPV measures are needed to confirm these findings and to examine potential relationships between IPV and cardiovascular health outcomes.