Pill Doesn’t Affect a Woman’s Libido

A review by the Ohio State University Medical Center found that birth-control pills have little, if any, effect on a woman’s sex drive.

Dr. Jonathan Schaffir, an obstetrician and gynecologist with the medical center, reviewed more than 25 years’ worth of studies, examining the relationship between oral contraceptives and libido.

Schaffir noted that some women experience a change in libido while taking oral contraceptives, but he could find no predictable patterns for this in the literature.

When looking for a consistent biological effect of hormonal contraception on sexual desire, androgens would probably be the factor most suspected to play a role, said Schaffir.

It was shown that the birth control pill decreased the concentration of free androgens, including testosterone, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to a loss of libido, said Schaffir. Chemical changes occurred, but they did not apparently impact sexual behavior for the vast majority of women.

Based on the review of studies from 1975 to 2004, Schaffir found that only a small minority of oral-contraceptive users experienced a negative effect on sexuality.

The findings are published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy.