Women who are using the contraceptive pill when they first meet their future husband are less attracted to them but are more likely to have a lasting and happy marriage, according to a new study.Marriages last on average two years longer if the female partner is on the pill when the pair share their first encounter.
While they are less likely to be attracted to or sexually satisfied by their husbands, women who take the pill are happier with other aspects of their marriage such as financial support and faithfulness, making the couple less likely to split up.
Taking a contraceptive pill makes a woman’s hormones more balanced over a month, remaining at levels which occur during the non-fertile stages of the natural monthly cycle.
Not using the pill means hormone levels are allowed to change, causing a change in emotions which make physical attraction a higher priority.
Researchers questioned 2,500 women from a number of countries including Britain about various aspects of their relationship with the biological father of their first born child.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal, suggests that using the pill could have an influence on a woman’s choice of husband.
Dr Craig Roberts, of Stirling University, who led the study, said: Our results show some positive and negative consequences of using the pill when a woman meets her partner. Such women may, on average, be less satisfied with the sexual aspects of their relationship, but more so with non-sexual aspects.
“Overall, women who met their partner on the pill had longer relationships – by two years on average – and were less likely to separate. 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.”
