vaginapagina | Some Head-Scratch Thinkin' on BC

Hi, there! I am a first time poster to VP, but I love this community and you guys muchly. My question today isn't necessarily a current issue I'm having, but more about what happens...later.

I recently finished reading Boink: the Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've kindof taken an interest in reading further in discussions of sex and how much of it is powerfully biological, and have found the whole subject absolutely fascinating.

This being said, while reading Roach's book (as well as a couple others), more than a few times I came across mentions of how the Pill has some not-so-foreseen sideffects. One of these cases discussed MHC (a genetic-thingy found in pheromones and saliva), and how the Pill causes a woman to go after males who share a more similar MHC. According to some of these science-y books, similar MHC is not desired at a genetic level. After going off the Pill, women discover that they may not be attracted to their partner in the same way they were while on it, because the Pill influenced on a biological level who they went after. Meaning: they went after partners who (biologically) their bodies may not have wanted otherwise. I didn't explain that terribly well, and if I explained it wrong, please correct me.

The other -- and perhaps more creepy -- discussion in Boink was how, after going off the Pill, a woman's libido may not ever really come back.

I don't know how I feel about either of these things. In the books I read, birth control was never discussed negatively. More than anything else, these books sought to understand how birth control affects the female body on a biological level and what some of the temporary/permanent changes may be.

I like being on birth control. I love my current partner. But I don't know how I always feel when confronted with information telling me that the Pill may be negatively influencing the males I go after, or how it may permanently affect my libido after I decide to stop using it.

These are just thoughts. I was curious, however, as to what your thoughts were on the Pill and the above information. Do you think about what may happen after you go off the Pill? Do you believe recent studies regarding the Pills influence biologically? Why/why not?

Thanks, guys! This was a little convoluted, but I look forward to seeing what you folks think.