If a woman is taking the oral contraceptive pill, chances are she’ll have a longer and happier marriage than those who aren’t taking the pill, a recent study has discovered.
Researchers from the University of Stirling found that women taking the pill at the time they met their future husbands, tend to have longer marriages despite feeling less satisfied with their sex lives than women who don’t use the oral contraceptive.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal, questioned 2,519 women from around the world, including the UK, and delved into the details of their relationships.
The results showed that the hormones in women on the pill were more balanced than those who don’t take it, meaning non-pill takers were more likely to change their preferences when looking for a partner during certain times of the month, than women on the pill.
These findings link the pill and the set of genes called the major histocompatibility complex (MHC).
These play an important role in guiding people to find mates who are genetically dissimilar from themselves because “women tend to find genetically dissimilar men attractive because resulting babies will more likely be healthy,” says lead researcher Dr. Craig Roberts.
Therefore, because women on the pill don’t experience fluctuating hormone levels around ovulation that determines what she finds attractive in a man, she’s more likely to find someone with similar MHC genes to herself.
However, on the flip side, because of the similarities in the MHC, women on the pill are more likely to have a lower sexual desire for their partner than non-pill takers, but find other qualities in her other half attractive, such as them being a good father, provider and reliable.
“Overall, women who met their partner on the pill had longer relationships – by two years on average – and were less likely to separate," adds Dr. Roberts.
"So there is both good news and bad news for women who meet while on the pill. One effect seems to compensate for the other."