How Birth Control Pills Affect Female Sex Drive
If you are sexually active, then you may be considering investing in a more permanent form of birth control in order to prevent unplanned pregnancy. But the problem is that some of them may cause undesirable side effects.
Did you know that some birth control options like pills may negatively affect your sex drive?
Birth control pills: This is one of the most popular contraceptives available for women. Easy to take and relatively inexpensive, the birth control pill has been used by more than 80% of American women born after 1945.
However, research now indicates that the birth control pill may inhibit more than just pregnancy. The pill may also significantly, and perhaps permanently, dampen your sexual desire.
This article will explain the various issues you should be cautious with when it comes to birth control pills. You will also learn how to minimize the negative impact birth control has on your sex life and will help you find the birth control option that is going to be the safest and at the same time effective.
The Birth Control Pill and Sex Drive: What We Already Know
What is the Birth Control Pill?
The birth control pill prevents pregnancy primarily by suppressing a woman’s natural cycle of ovulation. Taken daily for three consecutive weeks, the birth control pill delivers a combination of synthetic hormones (usually ones that mimic estrogen and progesterone) to your body.
These hormones work to prevent your ovaries from releasing an egg for fertilization every month and by interfering with implantation during months in which ovulation is not prevented.
The result of taking birth control pills every day is that you stop having periods and ovulation and as a result your chances to get pregnant decrease dramatically, meaning that you can start having unprotected intercourse with low chances of conception.
There are a variety of different birth control pills, each containing varying levels of synthetic hormones, available to women.
Side Effects of Birth Control Pills
For the past thirty years, researchers, health care providers, and pill users have acknowledged that the pill can cause a number of side effects. Ranging from weight gain to depression, the pill is definitely not without its drawbacks. An additional drawback for many women is that the birth control pill can inhibit sex drive. In particular, the pill appears to:
- decrease libido
- decrease sexual enjoyment
- decrease lubrication during sexual intercourse
Typically, though, this side effect was thought to disappear when use of the birth control pill was discontinued.
Why Does the Pill Affect Sex Drive?
It appears that the birth control pill affects sex drive because it acts directly on a woman’s sexual hormones. In particular, the birth control pill inhibits the production of androgens, including testosterone, in a woman’s ovaries.
Androgens have a direct effect on the pleasure that you experience during sexual intercourse. Additionally, the birth control pill also appears to increase the amount of sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in the body.
SHBG is a protein that binds to testosterone, preventing a woman’s body from using it effectively. High levels of SHBG have been directly linked to decreased libido and sexual desire.
A New Study on Birth Control and the Libido
In January 2021, a new study was released illustrating possible long-term effects of the birth control pill on the female sexual desire.
Published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, this study finds that women using the birth control pill showed markedly-decreased levels of sexual desire than those women who do not use the birth control pill. It also found that women who had discontinued use of the pill continued to suffer side effects in the long-term.
Luckily, there are options to increase libido in women!
The Study: women who had experienced long-term sexual dysfunction
The study, conducted by American endocrinologist, Dr. Claudia Panzer, included 124 premenopausal women who had experienced long-term sexual dysfunction. The women were divided into three groups: continued birth control pill users, former pill users, and women who had never used the pill before.
SHBG levels for all three groups were taken on three separate occasions: at the commencement of the study, 80 days after pill discontinuation, and 120 after pill discontinuation.
The study found that levels of SHBG were much higher in the continued pill users than in those women who had never used the pill before. At the commencement of the study, continued pill users had 4 times the levels of SHBG in their system than non-users.
Even 120 days after discontinuing the pill, continued pill users still had 2 times the levels of SHBG that non-users had. This suggests that perhaps the birth control pill can contribute to long-term elevated levels of SHBG. It may even mean that the birth control pill could permanently affect SHBG levels in pill users, even after they discontinue use of the contraception.
The long-term effects of the birth control pill on a woman’s SHBG levels and sexual libido
Further research is needed to examine the long-term effects of the birth control pill on a woman’s SHBG levels and sexual libido. In particular, researchers need to determine whether SHBG levels will eventually decline to normal levels in previous pill users. If not, researchers need to try to find out why this is the case.
What to Do If You Take Birth Control Pills and Your Libido is Low
If you are finding that you are experiencing the effects of a low libido, you may want to speak to your health care provider. Your birth control pill may indeed be contributing to your diminished sexual desire, but this does not necessarily mean you should discontinue taking the pill. Instead, your health care provider can find you another type of pill that may better suit your needs.
For example, many women find that triphasic birth control pills (which deliver differing amounts of hormones every week) interfere much less with their sex drive than monophasic pills (which deliver the same amount of hormones each dose).
As I mentioned before, many studies suggest that discontinuing the pill may actually help you develop more satisfying sexual encounters and enjoy the more intimate sexual relationship with your partner.
Keep in mind however that changing pill types may not be enough. All hormonal methods may produce this troubling effect. In addition, you should be aware that women who stopped taking their birth control pills often continue to have lower sexual desire for at least 6 months.
If you do decide to discontinue your birth control pill, be sure to consider another form of contraception, such as a condom ordiaphragm, when engaging in sexual intercourse. Also, realize that your sex drive may be slow to return.
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Oh my goodness! an amazing article dude. Thank you Nonetheless I am experiencing difficulty with certain birth control pills. Anybody who is aware of kindly respond. Thnkx
If you have difficulty with birth control pills, you should consult with your doctor first and avoid asking this kind of questions on the Internet!
I read this article fully it’s awesome article.
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