Pill Users Less Sexually Satisfied but Happier Overall with Relationships

Taking the pill may affect a woman’s relationship in unexpected ways, according to new research.

The study, which consisted of nearly 2,000 participants, found women who are on the pill are less sexually satisfied but are happier overall in their relationships.

Lead author Craig Roberts, of the University of Stirling in the U.K., found women who were on the pill when they met their partner reported greater emotional and financial satisfaction but reported increasing levels of sexual dissatisfaction as their relationship progressed.

“Women on the pill reported greater emotional

satisfaction but increasing sexual dissatisfaction.”

By contrast, women who weren’t on the pill when they met their partner maintained the same levels of sexual satisfaction throughout their relationship.

Researchers also found couples who met while the woman was on the pill were more likely to stay together, on average about two years longer, and the woman was more likely to initiate a breakup.

The study’s authors point to previous research and suggest these results come from hormonal changes associated with oral birth control, which may lead women to seek out genetically similar men.

“The biological mechanisms are almost certainly linked to hormones,” said researcher Lisa DeBruine, of the University of Aberdeen. “Hormones influence our bodies and behavior in many ways, so we’re still researching exactly how hormones affect mating behavior.”

From: LiveScience.com.