Could taking the Pill make you suspicious and possessive? That was the suggestion from a study at Stirling University that found brands of the Pill with the highest oestrogen bring out women’s jealous side.
Around 3.5 million women in Britain take the Pill. There are two types: the combined pill (oestrogen and progesterone) and the mini-pill (progesterone only).
Most will be aware of side-effects such as the risk of blood clots and headaches. Here we reveal the surprising things taking the Pill does to you ...
REDUCES LIBIDO
The Pill can be a passion killer, says Paul Carter, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the 92 Harley Street Clinic.
It’s thought that by preventing ovulation, it also lowers levels of testosterone, the hormone responsible for sex drive.
The Pill also raises levels of sex hormone binding globulin, which binds with testosterone and blocks its effects.
EASES ENDOMETRIOSIS
While it doesn’t cure endometriosis - where womb-like tissue grows elsewhere in the body - the Pill can alleviate the pain by suppressing menstruation.
Endometrial tissue needs oestrogen to survive, so Pills low in oestrogen and high in progesterone, such as the mini-pill, can slow growth of this tissue.
MAKES YOU BROODY
Ironically, going on the Pill may make you broody. Women taking it reacted more positively to babies’ faces than women who weren’t, say researchers at the University of St Andrews.
It’s thought the increased hormone levels strengthen a woman’s natural desire to form a bond with children.
BOOSTS INTELLIGENCE
The Pill increases a woman’s brain size by 3 percent, according to the journal Brain Research. The areas of the brain associated with memory, conversation and social skills are larger in women taking the Pill.
TACKLES ANAEMIA
Women with heavy bleeding each month often suffer from iron-deficiency anaemia because they are losing so much blood.
The Pill can help alleviate this because the progesterone causes the womb lining to thin (so that if an egg is fertilised, it can’t implant), says Dr Anne Szarewski, a family planning specialist at London’s Margaret Pyke Centre. When the lining sheds, the bleed is much lighter.
TRIGGERS DEPRESSION
Mood swings, depression and irritability are common in women taking synthetic progesterone, says Dr Claudine Domoney, a specialist in PMT and sex hormones at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London. This increases the enzymes that break down serotonin, a brain chemical that elevates mood.
MAKES YOU PICK MR WRONG
Women can sense the scent of a partner with whom they are genetically compatible. But the Pill can alter the type of male scent a woman finds attractive, meaning they may be attracted to the “wrong” partner, according to the University of Liverpool. - Daily Mail