Thanks A Lot, Hormones: How the Birth Control Pill Can Hurt Your Sex Life

It's a sad day for the glorious birth control pill, trusted friend of women everywhere for generations (or at least since the 1950s). Brace yourselves, ladies, because new research suggests that the hormonal changes associated with going on or off the pill can lead to a decline in sexual satisfaction.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, tested 365 heterosexual couples to explore the effects of the pill. It's already been established that the pill can alter a woman's force of sexual attraction, but this is the first time it's been linked to actual sexual bliss. Essentially, any time you shake things up with your pill-taking habits, your body's hormones get out of whack—which in turn hampers your sexual pleasure.

This news strikes some fear: how many women not currently on birth control will now decide to forgo it, out of fear that it could prevent them from reaching the orgasmic heights of their non-pill glory days?

We're not scientists, but we do know this: sexual protection is always the right idea . . . even if it means forsaking some pleasure. Trust us: sex will probably still be a really good time.

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