Birth Control Makes You Less Attractive...

I picked up Psychology Today and read the article The Double Life of Women, with this description: "The invisible turns of the reproductive cycle shape the everyday behavior of women and men. A woman's cycle influences not just her preference in a partner, but her personality as well."

Particularly interested in hormones, I thought the article looked promising. I wanted to hear more about the science of the complex interrelationship between mood and hormones. It's one that's been blown out of proportion in popular culture (this SNL commercial for a once a year period is hilarious though).

The gist of the piece is that, in contrast to historical thinking, women actually do exhibit signs of what menstrual stage they're in - subtle indications to the male population. Also, depending on that stage, women prefer different types of men. When she's ovulating - a more masculine man that implies "healthy" DNA. After ovulation - a less masculine man who will be more likely to help care for the child. Alright.

I was not happy with the introduction of the piece:

Step into any bar or party and it won't take you long to spot her. She's the woman with the ringing laugh, the daring clothes, the magnetic appeal that has drawn a circle of admirers around her. If the room were a solar system, she would be the sun—and at the outer reaches, you notice, are several other women seated quietly in her shadow.

But let's skip to the part that left me gaping - really saying "Are you kidding me?!"

The lead up is that birth control puts women in a false state of pregnancy, inhibiting her body from releasing another egg. However, since a woman is "more attractive" when she's in estrus, being on birth control puts her at a disadvantage in the game of love. (Can you see where this is going...?)

Here's the culprit of my cringe:
By the same token, says Gallup, if you're in a line of work in which your income depends on snap evaluations by others—a waitress, say, or a lap dancer—taking birth control pills "is like shooting yourself in the foot," since you miss out on the bountiful tips garnered by women in estrus. (bold mine)

She cites studies that show that ovulating women make more in these professions than those who aren't, but here's the message this particular excerpt, and the whole piece in general, seems to make: Taking birth control will make you less attractive and less rich! 

I'm still struggling with how to respond. But inserting such a quote, which does more than suggest a woman shouldn't take birth control is a bad choice on the part of the writer.

Vitamin Pills: Not the Redundancy It Sounds

As part of my science news column in The Free George (which I am no longer doing, but hope someone else continues it!), I wrote about a new birth control pill that contains the supplement folate. Please find it reproduced here, with helpful links.

The Pill: Now With Even More Protection

The human neural tube, the future brain and spinal cord, closes 27 days after conception. This means that an embryo just three to four millimeters long already sports the defining characteristics of a vertebrate, perhaps even before the mother knows she is pregnant.

Improper closing of the tube can result in spina bifida or anencephaly. Overall, neural tube defects occur in a surprising 1 in 500 live births. However, 50 percent of them could be prevented, researchers say. The answer lies in folic acid.

Recently, Bayer HealthCare has won approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its new oral contraceptive Beyaz, which combines the estrogen and progestin of its popular Yaz contraceptive with a folate supplement.  The new pill is designed to protect a fetus from neural tube defects in case of an unplanned pregnancy – either because of a contraception failure or because some women become pregnant soon after they stop using contraceptives without taking prenatal vitamins. 

An article in Time Magazine’s Healthland points out a certain irony that this pill provides for pregnancy while aiming to prevent it. But the critical role of folic acid in early human development warrants the precaution. Not to mention that it helps an adult body as well in building new cells. So if you’re not eating enough leafy greens, citrus fruits, or pastas, the addition may be helpful beyond a future embryo’s needs. While the folate supplement seems worthwhile, is it the beginning of a trend? Will oral contraceptives become “horse pills” – all-in-one “just in case” vitamins?

  
NEW: I told a friend about it later, and she made an insightful comment that I wanted to share: does adding folate to the pill subtly affect a woman's choice in keeping an unplanned pregnancy? Is it meant to? One of the many reasons that women choose to end pregnancies is because the embryo and/or growing fetus may have been damaged due to the behaviors of the mother when she didn't know she was pregnant. Like drinking or smoking. Or not taking the prenatal supplements that safeguard against certain developmental abnormalities. Can those on the pro-life side now use these new birth control pills to their advantage? Taking away the "excuse" that the child may have been adversely affected in the womb?