Birth Control Pills Might Alter Mate Select...(o-called manly men those with more mas...),Health

And men, given a choice, will gravitate towards an ovulating female rather than a non-ovulating female.

But women on the pill are more consistently in a state that mimics pregnancy, the authors stated.

According to the study authors, who stress that "modern contraception has improved the quality of life worldwide," 100 million women around the globe are on the pill.

Alvergne and Lummaa are hoping the paper will spur further research.

"There are important limitations from previous studies, due to the fact few of them have been addressing the question as their main focus," Alvergne said.

Future research should focus on two questions in particular, she said: Does use of the pill affect marital relationship, satisfaction and durability; and does it affect the ability of couples to reproduce?

But Hurd thinks there are other trends changing how humans date, mate and reproduce far more radically than artificial hormone cycles.

"Probably the biggest change in my lifetime is how people meet each other: online and using programs that match them for compatibility," he said. "That's probably going to have a massive effect on how people end up dating and ultimately reproducing. Just because you like someone with a square jaw in the middle of your cycle probably doesn't affect who you end up with."

More information

For more on reproductive health and biology, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

SOURCES: Alexandra Alvergne, Ph.D., postdoctoral research associate, department of animal and plant sciences, University of Sheffield, U.K
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