Your Birth Control May Affect How Often You Have Sex
Taking the pill doesn’t just prevent pregnancy—hormonal birth control can also clear up a woman’s skin, make periods less painful, and affect mood. And now, a new study says the type of birth control a woman uses can impact how often a couple has sex.
Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of New Mexico surveyed a total of 387 women who used hormonal birth control and were in heterosexual relationships. Some were followed for a 12-week period and asked how often (and when in their cycle) they had sex, while others answered a one-time questionnaire about how many times they’d had sex in the past week. They were also asked how committed they were to their relationships, and what types of birth control they were using.
Women who felt the most committed to their relationships had the most sex when they were on birth control with higher levels of progestin and lower levels of a form of estrogen called estradiol. On the other hand, women who felt less loyal to their partners had the most sex when they took birth control with lower levels of progestin and higher levels of estrogen.
The hormonal differences only influenced frequency of intercourse—and not oral sex, masturbation, or sexual fantasies.
health.com