Turns out birth control pills have nothing to do with your low sex drive

Birth control pills may cause weight gain and mood swings, but according to this study it has no effect on your libido. Photo: Shutterstock/Indiapicture

As a woman who has dabbled with birth control pills, I've come to regard this invention of modern medicine as somewhat ironic.

You see, oral contraceptive pills can avoid pregnancy--which means you can have boundless sex, without worrying about knocked up. Except, once you're on the pill, your libido starts decreasing and you don't feel like having sex anymore.  

However, according to a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, the pill has nothing to do with a dwindling sex drive.

Also read: Bored to death in bed? Here is how you can bring sexy back into your relationship 

Led by researchers from University of Kentucky and Indiana University,  the study suggests that contextual factors also have a role to play when it comes to women losing interest in sex.
"We wanted to understand the link between desire and contraceptive choice, especially in the context of longer-term relationships," said Dr. Kristen Mark, an author of the research.

"Most research does not focus on partners or people in long-term relationships but many contraceptive users are in long-term monogamous relationships, so this is an important group to study," she added.

The team reviewed the effects of three types of contraceptive methods: oral contraceptive pills, other hormonal contraceptives, and non-hormonal contraceptives.

The findings revealed that women on non-hormonal contraceptives reported higher desire on their own and women on oral contraceptives reported higher desire with their partner.

However, when the researchers adjusted the results to take into account relationship length and age, the differences were no longer significant, suggesting that it was the context rather than the contraceptive type that has the biggest impact on desire.

"Our findings are clear: the pill does not kill desire. This research helps to bust those myths and hopefully eventually get rid of this common cultural script in our society," Mark clarified.

Also read: Is your partner STD free? Here's how you can have THAT talk