Hormonal contraceptive congruency: Implications for relationship jealousy

Combined estrogen-progestin oral contraceptives and female sexuality: an updated review

INTRODUCTION

Sexual side effects of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) have not been fully understood, but increasing evidence prompts broader risk/benefit evaluation and merits inclusion in counseling on contraceptive options.

OBJECTIVES

The study sought to explore the impact of combined estrogens-progestin oral contraceptives on components of female sexuality, including sexual desire, anatomic genitourinary changes, lubrication, orgasm, provoked vestibulodynia, well-being, body image, partner preference, and relationship stability.

METHODS

A literature review was performed between April 2023 and January 2024 exploring the association between combined oral contraceptive pills and sexual health.

RESULTS

Although COCs decrease free testosterone, it is unclear if COCs affect sexual function, including desire. Antiandrogenic COCs do seem to have a negative effect on sexual arousal, lubrication, and orgasm. Provoked vestibulodynia may be related to early onset of COC use, low-estrogen pills, and antiandrogenic progestins. Emotional and sexual side effects are strong predictors of COC discontinuation. Longitudinal data indicate that using COCs when meeting and selecting a partner has implications on sexual satisfaction and relationship length. Analysis of data is complicated by various doses and forms of estrogen and progestin in COCs, which have changed over time.

CONCLUSION

Lack of randomized placebo-controlled studies and heterogenicity in study design hampers generalized statements about the effects of COCs on sexual function. Despite these challenges, consideration of sexual dysfunction when presenting and prescribing hormonal contraception is essential for informed consent, shared decision making, and ensuring reliable contraceptive choices.

Jealousy in women with migraine: a cross-sectional case-control study

BACKGROUND

Estrogen influences susceptibility to migraine attacks and it has been suggested to affect jealousy in romantic relationships in women. Therefore, we hypothesized that migraine women may be more jealous.

METHODS

Jealousy levels and hormonal status were determined based on a cross-sectional, web-based, questionnaire study among female migraine patients and controls. A random sample of participants was selected from a validated migraine database. Participants with a serious and intimate monogamous relationship were included (n = 498) and divided into the following subgroups: menstrual migraine (n = 167), non-menstrual migraine (n = 103), postmenopausal migraine (n = 117), and premenopausal (n = 57) and postmenopausal (n = 54) controls. The primary outcome was the difference in mean jealousy levels between patients with menstrual migraine, non-menstrual migraine and premenopausal controls. Results were analyzed with a generalized linear model adjusting for age, relationship duration and hormonal status (including oral contraceptive use). Additionally, the difference in jealousy levels between postmenopausal migraine patients and controls was assessed. Previous research was replicated by evaluating the effect of combined oral contraceptives on jealousy.

RESULTS

Jealousy levels were higher in menstrual migraine patients compared to controls (mean difference ± SE: 3.87 ± 1.09, p = 0.001), and non-menstrual migraine patients compared to controls (4.98 ± 1.18, p < 0.001). No difference in jealousy was found between postmenopausal migraine patients and controls (- 0.32 ± 1.24, p = 0.798). Women using combined oral contraceptives were more jealous compared to non-users with a regular menstrual cycle (2.32 ± 1.03, p = 0.025).

CONCLUSION

Young women with migraine are more jealous within a romantic partnership.

Sex Differences in Responses to Emotional and Sexual Infidelity in Dating Relationships

Abstract. This study examined the influence of the type of partner infidelity (sexual vs. emotional) and sex of participant on actual mate abandonment and mate retention behaviors. It was predicted that men would engage in significantly more mate abandonment behaviors after experiencing a physical infidelity and that women would engage in significantly more mate abandonment behaviors after experiencing an emotional infidelity. To test this hypothesis, men and women who had either experienced a sexual or emotional infidelity were recruited and were asked to complete several measures designed to indicate their behavioral responses to the infidelity. The men and women in the study showed the predicted asymmetrical pattern of behavioral choices in response to sexual and emotional infidelity.

Considering Conversion: The Aftermath of Oral Contraceptives

In Humanae vitae, Pope Paul VI predicted conjugal infidelity and a loss of respect for women as grave societal consequences through severing the once-connected unitive and procreative goods of conjugal love by using artificial birth control. Almost sixty years after the Food and Drug Administration approved the artificial birth control pill for contraceptive use, these predictions have grown roots. Unfortunately, turning our backs on God's plan for sexuality has disrupted our planet beyond the moral realm and affects the health of women, the health of society, and the health of wildlife in profound and tangible ways. Conversion refers to a change of heart, mind, and behavior concerning the stewardship of the body and creation. As opposed to artificial birth control, no known environmental or personal health risks exist in relation to natural family planning methods. Evangelization with subsequent conversion offers hope in overcoming these concerns surrounding artificial birth control pills, concerns which contribute to maladies in the female body, in society, and in nature. Too many wrestle against Catholic Church teaching prohibiting artificial birth control for birth regulation. However, because humans always have the power of choice in moral acts, our culture is not held captive by the current negative consequences that Pope Paul IV's predicted in Humanae vitae. As mindful stewards of our bodies and of the created world, we have the option of conversion toward truth, which continually beckons and invites.

Hormonal Contraceptive Use During Relationship Formation and Sexual Desire During Pregnancy

Women who are regularly cycling exhibit different partner preferences than those who use hormonal contraception. Preliminary evidence appears to suggest that during pregnancy women's partner preferences also diverge from those prevalent while regularly cycling. This is consistent with the general assertion that women's mate preferences are impacted by hormonal variation. During pregnancy, women's preferences are thought to closely resemble those displayed by women who are using hormonal contraception. Here, based on this literature, we compared levels of sexual desire among pregnant women who met their partner while using hormonal contraception and pregnant women who met their partner while regularly cycling. We predicted that women who met their partner while using hormonal contraception would experience higher levels of in-pair sexual desire during pregnancy since these women will have partner preferences that more closely match those prevalent at the time of their partner choice. Our results provided support for the idea that previous contraceptive use/non-use may impact subsequent sexual desire for the partner during pregnancy. Pregnant women who met their partner while using hormonal contraception (N = 37) were shown to have higher levels of in-pair sexual desire than those who met while regularly cycling (N = 47). In contrast, levels of extra-pair desire were not related to previous use/non-use of hormonal contraception. These findings were robust when controlling for a number of relevant individual difference variables known to impact sexual desire. Our results contribute to our understanding of factors affecting relationship functioning during pregnancy.

Partner choice, relationship satisfaction, and oral contraception: the congruency hypothesis

Hormonal fluctuation across the menstrual cycle explains temporal variation in women's judgment of the attractiveness of members of the opposite sex. Use of hormonal contraceptives could therefore influence both initial partner choice and, if contraceptive use subsequently changes, intrapair dynamics. Associations between hormonal contraceptive use and relationship satisfaction may thus be best understood by considering whether current use is congruent with use when relationships formed, rather than by considering current use alone. In the study reported here, we tested this congruency hypothesis in a survey of 365 couples. Controlling for potential confounds (including relationship duration, age, parenthood, and income), we found that congruency in current and previous hormonal contraceptive use, but not current use alone, predicted women's sexual satisfaction with their partners. Congruency was not associated with women's nonsexual satisfaction or with the satisfaction of their male partners. Our results provide empirical support for the congruency hypothesis and suggest that women's sexual satisfaction is influenced by changes in partner preference associated with change in hormonal contraceptive use.