Sexplanations: 'Can the Pill ruin sex?'

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Every week we partner with our sister magazine, Woman, to bring you expert sexual health advice from Christine Webber, a qualified psychotherapist with her own Harley Street practice.

The problem

After two children and 10 years of marriage, I'm still in love with my husband and fancy him like mad. But I've gone off sex, which upsets us both. I recently changed my contraceptive pill to a low-dose type. Could this be a factor? My libido does seem livelier during the week that I don't take my pill.

The solution

There are loads of reasons why women go off sex, including tiredness, boredom, anxiety and unsatisfying sex. Maybe you need to check that you’re as happy with your marriage as you say you are.

Do you resent being the one who has to take care of contraception? If you're not looking to expand your family, perhaps your husband would consider having a vasectomy.

Are you tired? Have you recently started a new job, or are family pressures getting to you? If so, these things could have turned you off sex. Has your love life become a bit boring? If so, why not visit a female sex shop website, such as Passion 8 or Sh!?

But if your relationship is great, then the Pill may be to blame. At a recent conference on contraception, it was suggested that a number of women appear to lose their sex drive on the low-dose Pills. No one seems to know why.

Apparently, some women do feel sexier during the week when they don’t take the Pill. There are currently 22 Pills available, so maybe a change of brand is the solution. At the conference, several experts recommended that women on low-dose Pills who lose interest in sex should change to an older-style Pill with higher doses of oestrogen.

Talk it over with a doctor at a family planning clinic, and hopefully you’ll soon get your sex drive back!

- There's more advice from Christine in this week's bigger better WOMAN, on sale every Tuesday.

- Is your relationship in need of some sexual healing? Email your problem to Christine on sexplanations@ipcmedia.com or to us on goodtoknow