Paradise Lost, Hormonal Birth Control May Affect Women's Sexual Arousal & Pleasure

While hormonal contraception methods, like the pill, may help encourage women’s sexual freedom (awesome), it turns out that they may also be making sex less pleasurable (like we need that, given all the bad lays walking the streets). For all the advancements hormonal contraception has made, a recent study shows that today’s pill still shares some of the problems older pills caused: In certain people, hormonal contraception continues to affect arousal, lubrication, and orgasm as well as hampers other important aspects of pleasure and sexuality.

A recent Indiana University study collected data from 1,100 sexually active women, half of whom used hormonal birth control (the pill, patch, ring, or shot) and half of whom used non-hormonal birth control (condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps, or withdrawal).

Though the women of the two groups reported similar levels of sexual satisfaction (which was established on grounds of intimacy and romance), the women using hormonal birth control methods experienced less sexual arousal and fewer orgasms, decreased lubrication and pleasure, and ultimately, had sex less frequently. On a positive note, we can just whip out this study instead of having to use the ole “I have a headache” response.

Lead researcher Nicole Smith said that women “need to know that there are options, such as lubricants or other sexual enhancement products that may help to alleviate some of the negative effects they are experiencing.” (There’s also the option of “try harder, dude,” for our more vocal contingency.) Women should also be well informed about other, non-hormonal birth control methods, so that they can find the solution that’s right for them if they are experiencing negative side-effects.

While an enormous effort has been made to make condoms more pleasurable for men, “you don't hear about this same effort going toward reducing the negative impact of contraception on women's sexual functioning. It's just not part of the discussion," Smith says. (Apparently we’re still paying for that whole making them eat the apple/snake thing.)

Very few studies have looked closer at this problematic medical phenomenon that at once encourages females’ sexual freedom and limits it; Smith’s study is among the first since the 1980s in the U.S. to study the relationship between hormonal contraception and sexual functioning in women.

No woman deserves getting stuck with a sub-par sex life. So if you think hormonal birth control may be negatively affecting you, talk to your health care provider about alternate options. Or, become a scientist who finds a good male birth control method. Someone needs to take it for the team.

Source: Indiana University (2011). Not your mother's birth control, same troubles. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111031082056.htm

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EXPERT

Evelyn Resh MPH,CNM commented (11/4/2012)

I am not a researcher, but in my women's health care practice of over 20 years, I have found this to be the case. Many women who use a hormone-based contraceptive method report a decreases in vaginal lubrication as well as sexual desire and interest. I believe this is due in large part to the interruption in normal ovulation that are the hallmark of hormonal methods. After all, if you interrupt biology, you're bound to experience a variety of consequences. Personally, I recommend the Paragard IUD to many patients and feel that it is an under-prescribed and under-used method of birth control. The Paragard IUD is a hormone-free method. The IUD's of today do not have the same risk factors as those from years ago. Furthermore, it offers long-term contraception - the Paragard is effective for 10 years. This is a great for women who want to delay child-bearing for an extended period of time. And, if you change your mind and want to conceive, you're fertile as soon as it is removed which is generally an easy office procedure that take only minutes.

EXPERT

Nicole Jardim commented (11/7/2012)

I have not had 20 years of experience like Evelyn :-) but I agree that since becoming a women's health coach I have encountered a great number of women who have these issues using the Pill. I read an article recently that explained the reasons behind this. Here is the link: http://www.epigee.org/guide/pill_sex.html Essentially, the Pill inhibits the production of androgens, in particular testosterone. Testosterone plays a huge role in sex drive and arousal. The article goes on to say, "The Pill also increases 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." This usually corrects itself when a woman comes off the Pill but not always. The article suggests that some women can have these negative effects permanently :-(